According to a study by the Ifo Institute, settlements of authorities are only suitable to a limited extent for revitalizing structurally weak regions. “Structurally weak regions are often not attractive enough to lure new workers there. At the same time, there is often a lack of highly qualified workers,” said Professor Joachim Ragnitz on Tuesday in Dresden.
Some of the employees of the Upper Palatinate Rural Development Office still live in the Regensburg region eight years after moving from Regensburg to Tirschenreuth. “They accept commuting times of more than one hour per route,” says the Ifo study. Those affected cited family ties or a few years left until retirement as reasons. Only 65 of the original 135 employees remained in the authority after the move. The vacancies were replaced by workers from the Tirschenreuth region.
In the case of other relocations of authorities to structurally weak areas examined by the Ifo Institute, in some cases employees of the authorities lived in nearby large cities or commuted from the old locations. “In this case, the hoped-for economic stimulus in the target regions will not materialise,” the researchers determined. Recruiting highly qualified employees is difficult in structurally weak regions. For non-residents, these regions are often unattractive, partners often cannot find a suitable job, and the local labor supply is lower than in metropolitan areas.
“If an authority settlement is to be successful, the ‘soft’ location factors have to be improved,” said Ragnitz. This includes employment opportunities for family members, good transport and broadband connections, good educational facilities, a wide range of leisure activities and suitable housing. The Ifo Institute had prepared the study on behalf of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development.
The Bavarian Minister of Construction Christian Bernreiter (CSU) said his experiences with the relocation of authorities to rural areas were consistently positive. Many people would have to commute from the country to the metropolitan areas. “If they have interesting alternatives in their home country in rural areas, we will also relieve traffic and the housing situation in the cities.”