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Precious Neighbors: The Value of Co-Locating with the Government

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  • Jörg R Stahl

Abstract

In many countries, disproportionately many firms locate their headquarters in the capital city. Spatial proximity to a country’s leading politicians may be beneficial for a number of reasons. Since neither firms nor governments move randomly, the effects of firms’ co-locating with the government are normally hard to identify. I solve this problem by examining a unique event—the decision to relocate the German federal government from Bonn to Berlin in 1991. Following reunification, there was a free vote in the German parliament on the future location of the government. Berlin won by a narrow margin, an event that could not be anticipated even days before and that is free from confounding factors. Firms with corporate headquarters in Berlin experience abnormal equity returns of more than 3% following the relocation decision.

Suggested Citation

  • Jörg R Stahl, 2023. "Precious Neighbors: The Value of Co-Locating with the Government," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 27(4), pages 1269-1296.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:revfin:v:27:y:2023:i:4:p:1269-1296.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rof/rfac063
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Stephen J. Redding & Daniel M. Sturm & Nikolaus Wolf, 2015. "The Economics of Density: Evidence From the Berlin Wall," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2127-2189, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Co-locating with government; Firm value effects; Headquarters location; German government relocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • B26 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Financial Economics

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