International Integration and Regional Development

Main Research Topics

Research conducted by IAW addresses questions such as the following:

• Which determinants shape migration decisions of highly skilled workers? How can economic policy respond to a growing integration of labour markets?
• How do offshoring and outsourcing affect the demand for labour at home? To what extent are these decisions shaped by the policy environment?
• What are the main constraints to increasing participation by small and mid-sized firms in the international integration process? How can the integration of markets be promoted by economic policy?
• How can inward FDI be stimulated? What are the effects of mergers and acquisitions on domestic employment?
• What are the determinants shaping the international integration of banking markets? What are the impacts of banking regulations on market integration and risk-taking?

Research in the area of International Integration and Regional Development has a strong empirical focus while being solidly grounded in recent theoretical work. One key insight in the literature has been that the determinants and effects of globalisation affect different firms, households, and regions in a very heterogeneous way. Taking into account this heterogeneity is thus a key challenge for empirical research in the field. To this end, the IAW can draw on extensive experience in, and access to, a unique portfolio of micro-level data, including the IAB Establishment Panel, the Micro-Database Foreign Direct Investment (MiDi) provided by Deutsche Bundesbank, as well as various sets of firm-level statistics provided by the Statistical Offices in Germany. Given the often confidential character of the data, this can be achieved only by working closely with the producers of data.

Regional research at the IAW is inter-disciplinary; issues are dealt with from the perspective of regional economics as well as that of economic geography. The IAW regularly monitors economic developments in Baden-Wuerttemberg, reports twice a year on the structural changes in the region around its capital, Stuttgart, and has exclusive access to representative micro data at the establishment level for Baden-Wuerttemberg.