An exploration of industrial agglomeration, regional trajectories and regional inter-industry labour flows in Germany

Abstract

The challenge for Old Industrialized Areas (OIAs) consists of both mastering to recover from the longlasting effects of severe crises of the former predominant industries and to adapt to ongoing multiple structural changes. In the first part of this compilation the papers provide insights in which ways different factors affect the adaptability of OIAs. Fragments of mature industries contributed to adverse effects of the industry mix on regional growth in OIAs. Weakly embedded mature manufacturing clusters in an OIA’s industry space imply limited opportunities for knowledge spillovers and innovation due to missing links across old and new clusters. In the second part of this compilation, the papers provide insights on the impact of the regional industrial mix on individuals’ post-redundancy re-employment opportunities, to which industries workers move after plant closures in industrial agglomerations and whether they remain in the region or not. The papers show that the likelihood of displaced workers to take up new employment does not rely merely on individual characteristics, but also on the ‘absorptive capacity’ of the regional labour market, the regional industry structure, and the local conditions. The concluding section in this compilation provides policy recommendations for improving the coherence of the regional industrial portfolio of OIAs and thereby their resilience and adaptability to structural change.