Industrial Specialization in Germany

Abstract

Taking a longer-term view, the questions arise: What is the composition of Germany’s industrial “portfolio” of goods and know-how? And: How do the focal areas pursued by German research and industry measure up internationally in terms of ensuring that Germany will continue to be capable of a high level of technological performance in the future as well? An economy’s endowment with production factors determines its particular specialization patterns. As do the means which the respective country’s institutional framework (regulations, organizations, division of labor, legal framework, system of public finance, system of government, resources, etc.) and societal traditions (in the form of its “national innovation system”) offer. This is why economies that are similarly endowed with, for example, innovation capabilities may take different routes and differ substantially in their innovation behavior and still have comparable macroeconomic track records.