Projects "Economy and jobs"

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics, the Thünen-Institue of International Forestry and Forest Economics and entera the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies evaluates rural develpoment programmes and measures within a multi-disciplinary team and approach. The Institute of Rural Studies is the leading partner. Main tasks are analyses regarding programme delivery and implementation, enviromental issues, the support of human capital and cooperation activities as well as rural development including the LEADER approach.

Many peripheral rural regions are affected by unemployment, low wages, sparse infrastructure, out-migration and population ageing. The federal ministry of agriculture searches for new approaches for developing such regions. We research these new pilot programs concerning their feasibility and transferability.

Why do individuals choose a certain occupation? What influences have regional determinants like labour market and industry structure on the decision? These questions are especially important for rural areas with regard to the current German skill-shortage.

Along with a rising competition for agricultural land, policymakers are called upon for more governmental regulation on the land market. We analyse land market developments in order to assess relevant causes and impacts. This allows for an evaluation of governmental regulatory instruments.

The local availability of human capital is of high importance for the economic development of rural areas. In particular in times of demographic change, the spatial mobility of labour is a crucial determinant of the human capital endowment of a region.

With changing population structures social services face new demands. Rural areas often encounter special challenges. Can digitalization help to meet them?

How is farmland ownership in Germany distributed? We try to answer this question by analysing a nationwide sample.

The economy is in a constant state of change due to technological advances, increasing income, changing demand patterns and shifts of the global production structure. Regions’ affectedness by this structural change differs depending on industry structure and the availability of jobs, capital and knowledge, differs, as does the predominance of various branches.

Depending on the typology applied, rural areas in Germany are home to about 30 to 50 percent of the population. They are characterized by villages and small towns, a great share of agricultural land use and forestry, as well as a relatively low population and settlement density.

n Germany pronounced regional disparities with regard to economic strength exist. They show up, i.a., between rural and urbanised regions. Therefore, we analyse the impact of the spatially uneven distribution of workers and firms on their economic success in terms of productivity and the generation of innovations, respectively.

Some German regions are characterized by specifically intensive livestock production. This production not only contributes to economic prosperity in these regions; it also causes massive environmental problems due to pollution of land, air and water.

Regions with high start-up activities tend to be seen as dynamic and competitive. If, on the other hand, the number of new start-ups is low, regions are quickly regarded as structurally weak, especially rural regions. Instead of such simplistic conclusions, however, differentiated analyses are required in order to correctly interpret the patterns and importance of regional start-up activities.

More and more agricultural enterprises in East Germany are in the hands of external investors. We examine the impacts of this development on rural regions and on the living conditions in villages.

The evaluation at the Institute of Rural Studies covers most of the provided measures of the six rural development programmes. We examine the programme effects on water, soil and climate protection, on economic growth and employment as well as quality of life in rural areas. Furthermore we analyze the implementation procedures and the costs of implementation in order to assess the efficiency of funding.

More and more agricultural enterprises are taken over by external investors. What are the implications for the rural economy, the people and the environment?

LandZukunft is a pilot project of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Our accompanying research serves the aim of collecting, arranging and analysing the experiences from the four pilot regions, the districts of Dithmarschen, Holzminden, Uckermark and Birkenfeld. The aim is to reach generalisable conclusions that inform decision makers for the design of upcoming policies.

How different are the rural areas in Europe and which chances do they have considering their different structures? In order to be able to better understand these aspects and to be able to better adapt the policy for rural areas, the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) initiated the project „EDORA“ (European Development Opportunities for Rural Areas) in 2008.

Can village tourism help to develop rural areas? This was the question of a model project that was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the new member states between 1993 and 1995. Based on village tourism sustainable concepts of rural development should be tested. Approximately ten years after the model project, sustainability has been evaluated.

How has the preservation of cultural landscapes been supported in the new member states between the years 2000 to 2006?

The recession of 2008/2009 has led to the so far biggest economic downturn in Germany of the post-war period. Today, the crisis provides illustrative material about how the economic resilience of countries, regions and firms to external shocks can be improved.

TRUSTEE is a research cooperation of partners from sixteen European countries (Germany, France, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Spain, Sweden). The partners cooperate in research on the complex relations between economic development and utilisation and management of resources in rural areas. In order to cope with the complex topic, the project applies an interdisciplinary approach. In Sub-project 3.2 we analyse with own surveys the specific problems and opportunities of selected rural labour markets in four German and French regions. Our research concentrates on the situation of firms and employees from the food processing industry. This concentration allows for a comparison of strategies and influences of external conditions. The food processing industry has been selected as a typical "rural" sector. Moreover, this industry is usually ascribed a low degree of innovativeness. We hope to contribute to the development of a more differentiated perspective, which allows for the recognition of incremental and organisational innovations as well. Thereby we hope to contribute to the assessment of strategies of firms that do not belong to high-tech industries. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research finances the analyses of the Thünen-Institute in the German regions.