Was Germany ever United? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade 1885 - 1933

Nikolaus Wolf

No 2424, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: When did Germany become economically integrated? Within the framework of a gravity model, based on a new data set of about 40,000 observations on trade flows within and across the borders of Germany over the period 1885 – 1933, I explore the geography of trade costs across Central Europe. There are three key results. First, the German Empire before 1914 was a poorly integrated economy, both relative to integration across the borders of the German state and in absolute terms. Second, this internal fragmentation resulted from cultural heterogeneity, from administrative borders within Germany, and from geographical barriers that divided Germany along natural trade routes into eastern and western parts. Third, internal integration improved, while external integration worsened after World War I and again with the Great Depression, in part because of border changes along the lines of ethno-linguistic heterogeneity. By the end of the Weimar Republic in 1933, Germany was reasonably well integrated.

Keywords: Germany; economic integration; aggregation bias; border effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F15 N13 N14 N90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Was Germany Ever United? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade, 1885–1933 (2009)
Working Paper: Was Germany ever united? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade 1885 – 1933 (2008)
Working Paper: Was Germany Ever United? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade 1885-1933 (2008)
Working Paper: Was Germany Ever United? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade, 1885 -1933 (2008)
Working Paper: Was Germany ever united?: evidence from intra- and international trade 1885-1933 (2008)
Working Paper: Was Germany ever united? Evidence from Intra- and International Trade 1885 – 1933 (2008)
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