The Economic Impact of Social Ties: Evidence from German Reunification
The Economic Impact of Social Ties: Evidence from German Reunification
复制标题
DOI：
10.1093/qje/qjt009
复制
发表时间：
2013-08-01
影响因子：
13.7
通讯作者：
Hassan, Tarek A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Burchardi, Konrad B.;Hassan, Tarek A.
我们利用1989年柏林墙的倒塌来表明，个人出于非经济原因而维持的个人关系可能是地区经济增长的重要决定因素。我们发现，1989年与东德有社会联系的西德家庭在柏林墙倒塌后经历了个人收入的持续增长。此外，这些家庭的存在极大地影响了区域一级的经济表现：它增加了创业活动的回报、成为企业家的家庭的比例，以及设在给定西德地区的公司在东德投资的可能性。因此，(由于特殊原因)与东德有社会联系的家庭高度集中的西德地区，在20世纪90年代初的人均收入增长幅度要高得多。在，与东德有社会联系的家庭所占比例每增加一个标准差，就会导致人均收入在6年内增加4.7%。我们将我们的发现解释为社会关系和区域经济发展之间存在因果联系的证据。凝胶编码：O10、O43、J61、L14、F20。
We use the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to show that personal relationships which individuals maintain for noneconomic reasons can be an important determinant of regional economic growth. We show that West German households who had social ties to East Germany in 1989 experienced a persistent rise in their personal incomes after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Moreover, the presence of these households significantly affects economic performance at the regional level: it increases the returns to entrepreneurial activity, the share of households who become entrepreneurs, and the likelihood that firms based within a given West German region invest in East Germany. As a result, West German regions that (for idiosyncratic reasons) have a high concentration of households with social ties to the East exhibit substantially higher growth in income per capita in the early 1990s. A one standard deviation rise in the share of households with social ties to East Germany in 1989 is associated with a 4.7 percentage point rise in income per capita over six years. We interpret our findings as evidence of a causal link between social ties and regional economic development. JEL Codes: O10, O43, J61, L14, F20.