Relatedness, complexity, and regional development paths in Germany: a sequencing approach

Anne Otto (), Sebastian Losacker and Hendrik Hansmeier
Additional contact information
Anne Otto: Institute for Employment Research (IAB)
Sebastian Losacker: Justus Liebig University Giessen
Hendrik Hansmeier: Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

The Annals of Regional Science, 2025, vol. 74, issue 2, No 11, 26 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper critiques the implementation of the EU's Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), advocating for a deeper analysis of the long-term evolution of regional industrial portfolios. We investigate the changing coherence of these portfolios across 401 German NUTS-3 regions from 1993 to 2018, utilizing skill- and task-based metrics for relatedness and complexity, alongside sequence analysis and optimal matching techniques. We identify various regional trajectory types, enriching the understanding of regional economic development. We find that the majority of regions exhibit a stable coherence of their economic portfolio over time while only a few regions have undergone either more dynamic or fragile development paths. While the selection of priorities in S3 policies is based on the evaluation of the current knowledge base, our findings underscore the importance of historical contexts in regional economic structures, offering insights for enhancing regional diversification strategies and prioritizing capabilities in S3 policy frameworks.

JEL-codes: O14 O25 O38 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00168-025-01375-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-025-01375-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://link.springer.com/journal/168

DOI: 10.1007/s00168-025-01375-5

Access Statistics for this article

The Annals of Regional Science is currently edited by Martin Andersson, E. Kim and Janet E. Kohlhase

More articles in The Annals of Regional Science from Springer, Western Regional Science Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().