Michael Wyrwich
Biographic Data
| ID | 1474718 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Wyrwich |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Wyrwich |
| SIGNATURE | WYRWICH M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Groningen |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7746-694X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 88 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 25 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Industrial Monuments in Germany
We describe the procedure for compiling a list of industrial monuments in the regions of Germany and the resulting data set. This includes detailed insights into the absolute and relative numbers of industrial monuments, categorized into production, traffic, and supply. In addition, we provide an overview of the regional distribution of the number of industrial monuments in Germany. Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria exhibit the largest shares of ind…
From values to ventures
Comprehensive Patent Data of the German Democratic Republic 1949–1990
We document the generation and the content of the Comprehensive Patent Database (CPDB) of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (1949–1990), which is freely available at GESIS https://doi.org/10.7802/2448 . The database contains all patents granted in the GDR and published by the Office of Inventions and Patents (later: German Patent and Trade Mark Office/DPMA). The core database covers the years 1950–1990 and contains 24 variables with manually c…
Long‐term decline of regions and the rise of populism
What characterizes regions where right‐wing populist parties are relatively successful? A prominent hypothesis proposed in the emerging “geography of discontent” literature claims that places that are “left behind” constitute a breeding ground for the rise of populism. We re‐examine this hypothesis by analyzing the rise of populism in Germany. Our results suggest that high vote shares of populist parties are associated with the long‐term decline …
On the Roman origins of entrepreneurship and innovation in Germany
We investigate whether the development of regional disparities in entrepreneurship and innovation in Germany can be traced back to Roman rule 2000 years ago. We find a lasting positive Roman effect on the level and quality of entrepreneurship and innovation. This effect might be due to the imprint of local hard factors, such as interregional social and economic exchange, particularly emerging from the integration into the Roman Empire. This effec…
Historical episodes and their legacies across space
There is a growing amount of literature in economic geography showing that historical episodes can leave long‐lasting cultural and institutional legacies across space. For credibly identifying such persistent effects the analyses should not pick up trends preceding the respective episodes. Against this background, the paper re‐examines the famous case of the German division and reunification. The empirical focus is on the persistent mark‐up of wo…
Historical roots of entrepreneurship in different regional contexts—the case of Poland
Entrepreneurship is often found to be highly persistent over time. Although the historical roots of persisting effects of entrepreneurship are partially uncovered, their mechanisms remained largely unclear. To understand the historical roots of contemporaneous regional entrepreneurship, we exploit different types of historical self-employment in regions of Poland, a country that experienced different types of disruptive developments. In contrast …
Types of institutions and well-being of self-employed and paid employees in Europe
This paper analyzes the role of different types of institutions, such as entrepreneurship-facilitating entry conditions, labor market regulations, quality of government, and perception of corruption for individual well-being among self-employed and paid employed individuals. Well-being is operationalized by job and life satisfaction of individuals in 32 European countries measured by data from EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SIL…
Does Successful Innovation Require Large Urban Areas? Germany as a Counterexample
Popular theories claim that innovation activities should be located in large cities because of more favorable environmental conditions that are absent in smaller cities or peripheral areas. Germany provides a counterexample to such theories. We argue that a major reason behind the geography of innovation in Germany is the country’s pronounced legacy of political fragmentation that created a decentralized settlement structure, shaped the geographi…
Migration restrictions and long-term regional development
This article investigates the long-run impact of a migration barrier on regional development. The analysis is based on the large-scale expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II (WWII). Expellees were not allowed to resettle in the French occupation zone in the first years after the War while there was no such legislation in the other occupation zones (USA; UK; Soviet Union). The temporary migration barrier had long-l…
Historical roots of entrepreneurship-facilitating culture and innovation activity
There is a research gap with respect to understanding the role of cultural attitudes in favour of entrepreneurial activity for actual start-up behaviour. The paper combines historical self-employment data with a psychological measure for entrepreneurial attitudes. The results reveal a positive relationship between the historical level of self-employment in a region and the presence of people with an entrepreneurial personality structure today. Th…
An evaluation of German active labour market policies
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the results of studies that investigate the most important active labour market policy (ALMP) measures in Germany. A focus is also on programmes devoted to foster entrepreneurship which can make important contributions to a country’s growth and social welfare. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on quantitative and qualitative assessments and a comparison of results of previous studies on AL…
Regional knowledge, entrepreneurial culture, and innovative start-ups over time and space―an empirical investigation
We investigate the role of entrepreneurship culture and the historical knowledge base of a region on current levels of new business formation in innovative industries. The analysis is for German regions and covers the time period 1907–2014. We find a pronounced positive relationship between high levels of historical self-employment in science-based industries and new business formation in innovative industries today. This long-term legacy effect …
Failing role models and the formation of fear of entrepreneurial failure
Entrepreneurial role models influence decisions to start firms. This effect is even stronger if peers and observers live in the same region. However, most studies remain silent about the role of entrepreneurial failure for the direction of role modeling. Failed role models can trigger a deterrence of entrepreneurship in others of the same region. We hypothesize that observing successful entrepreneurs reduces fear of failure, while observing busin…
Historical and current spatial differences in female labour force participation
New Kibs on the bloc
This study investigates the effect of local manufacturing on start-up activity across knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries by relying on the natural experiment of German reunification. KIBS did not exist in the former socialist East Germany. The findings show that local manufacturing affected the co-location of new KIBS firms in East Germany while there was no such effect for West Germany, where the KIBS sector was already well…
Historical shocks and persistence of economic activity
This paper investigates the persistence of self-employment in the districts of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, between 1925 and 2010. The area experienced a number of disruptive historical shocks during this period. This setting rules out the fact that the persistence of self-employment can be explained by the persistence of institutions and culture. Nevertheless, a high level of persistence of industry-specific self-employment rates is found. It…
Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and culture
The effect of entrepreneurship on economic development—an empirical analysis using regional entrepreneurship culture
We use the historical self-employment rate as an indicator of a regional culture of entrepreneurship and take it as an instrument to analyze the effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth in recent periods. The results indicate that German regions with a high level of entrepreneurship in the mid-1920s have higher start-up rates about 50 years later. Thus, a regional culture of entrepreneurship is an important resource for the persistence of en…
Entrepreneurship and the intergenerational transmission of values
Everything in Its Place
Balanced Skills and the City
Entrepreneurs are assumed to be multiskilled, covering a number of skills and achieving in each skill a level as high as possible. Being such a jack-of-all-trades increases the probability of running an entrepreneurial venture successfully, but what happens to the jack-of-few-trades who lacks sufficient skills? This article investigates a possible compensation mechanism between balanced skills and cities and how this compensatory measure relates …
How much of a socialist legacy? The re-emergence of entrepreneurship in the East German transformation to a market economy
The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship
Fritsch M. and Wyrwich M. The long persistence of regional levels of entrepreneurship: Germany, 1925–2005, Regional Studies. This paper investigates the persistent levels of self-employment and new business formation in different time periods and under different framework conditions. The analysis shows that regional differences regarding the level of self-employment and new business formation tend to be persistent for periods as long as eighty ye…
Regional Entrepreneurial Heritage in a Socialist and a Postsocialist Economy
Regions have a distinct entrepreneurial heritage, understood as a historical tradition in entrepreneurial culture. The persistence of that heritage in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) is examined across severe ruptures in economic development. In this article, I argue that regional differences in private-sector activities under socialism-a system that was hostile toward entrepreneurs-reflect strong entrepreneurial orientations of local…
The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship
Fritsch M. and Wyrwich M. The long persistence of regional levels of entrepreneurship: Germany, 1925–2005, Regional Studies. This paper investigates the persistent levels of self-employment and new business formation in different time periods and under different framework conditions. The analysis shows that regional differences regarding the level of self-employment and new business formation tend to be persistent for periods as long as eighty ye…
Historical roots of entrepreneurship-facilitating culture and innovation activity
There is a research gap with respect to understanding the role of cultural attitudes in favour of entrepreneurial activity for actual start-up behaviour. The paper combines historical self-employment data with a psychological measure for entrepreneurial attitudes. The results reveal a positive relationship between the historical level of self-employment in a region and the presence of people with an entrepreneurial personality structure today. Th…
The effect of entrepreneurship on economic development—an empirical analysis using regional entrepreneurship culture
We use the historical self-employment rate as an indicator of a regional culture of entrepreneurship and take it as an instrument to analyze the effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth in recent periods. The results indicate that German regions with a high level of entrepreneurship in the mid-1920s have higher start-up rates about 50 years later. Thus, a regional culture of entrepreneurship is an important resource for the persistence of en…
Failing role models and the formation of fear of entrepreneurial failure
Entrepreneurial role models influence decisions to start firms. This effect is even stronger if peers and observers live in the same region. However, most studies remain silent about the role of entrepreneurial failure for the direction of role modeling. Failed role models can trigger a deterrence of entrepreneurship in others of the same region. We hypothesize that observing successful entrepreneurs reduces fear of failure, while observing busin…
Does Successful Innovation Require Large Urban Areas? Germany as a Counterexample
Popular theories claim that innovation activities should be located in large cities because of more favorable environmental conditions that are absent in smaller cities or peripheral areas. Germany provides a counterexample to such theories. We argue that a major reason behind the geography of innovation in Germany is the country’s pronounced legacy of political fragmentation that created a decentralized settlement structure, shaped the geographi…
Historical shocks and persistence of economic activity
This paper investigates the persistence of self-employment in the districts of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, between 1925 and 2010. The area experienced a number of disruptive historical shocks during this period. This setting rules out the fact that the persistence of self-employment can be explained by the persistence of institutions and culture. Nevertheless, a high level of persistence of industry-specific self-employment rates is found. It…
New Kibs on the bloc
This study investigates the effect of local manufacturing on start-up activity across knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries by relying on the natural experiment of German reunification. KIBS did not exist in the former socialist East Germany. The findings show that local manufacturing affected the co-location of new KIBS firms in East Germany while there was no such effect for West Germany, where the KIBS sector was already well…
Historical and current spatial differences in female labour force participation
Migration restrictions and long-term regional development
This article investigates the long-run impact of a migration barrier on regional development. The analysis is based on the large-scale expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II (WWII). Expellees were not allowed to resettle in the French occupation zone in the first years after the War while there was no such legislation in the other occupation zones (USA; UK; Soviet Union). The temporary migration barrier had long-l…
Everything in Its Place
Regional Entrepreneurial Heritage in a Socialist and a Postsocialist Economy
Regions have a distinct entrepreneurial heritage, understood as a historical tradition in entrepreneurial culture. The persistence of that heritage in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) is examined across severe ruptures in economic development. In this article, I argue that regional differences in private-sector activities under socialism-a system that was hostile toward entrepreneurs-reflect strong entrepreneurial orientations of local…
Regional Entrepreneurial Heritage in a Socialist and a Postsocialist Economy
Regions have a distinct entrepreneurial heritage, understood as a historical tradition in entrepreneurial culture. The persistence of that heritage in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) is examined across severe ruptures in economic development. In this article, I argue that regional differences in private-sector activities under socialism-a system that was hostile toward entrepreneurs-reflect strong entrepreneurial orientations of local…
The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship
Fritsch M. and Wyrwich M. The long persistence of regional levels of entrepreneurship: Germany, 1925–2005, Regional Studies. This paper investigates the persistent levels of self-employment and new business formation in different time periods and under different framework conditions. The analysis shows that regional differences regarding the level of self-employment and new business formation tend to be persistent for periods as long as eighty ye…
How much of a socialist legacy? The re-emergence of entrepreneurship in the East German transformation to a market economy
Entrepreneurship and the intergenerational transmission of values
Everything in Its Place
Balanced Skills and the City
Entrepreneurs are assumed to be multiskilled, covering a number of skills and achieving in each skill a level as high as possible. Being such a jack-of-all-trades increases the probability of running an entrepreneurial venture successfully, but what happens to the jack-of-few-trades who lacks sufficient skills? This article investigates a possible compensation mechanism between balanced skills and cities and how this compensatory measure relates …
Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and culture
The effect of entrepreneurship on economic development—an empirical analysis using regional entrepreneurship culture
We use the historical self-employment rate as an indicator of a regional culture of entrepreneurship and take it as an instrument to analyze the effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth in recent periods. The results indicate that German regions with a high level of entrepreneurship in the mid-1920s have higher start-up rates about 50 years later. Thus, a regional culture of entrepreneurship is an important resource for the persistence of en…
An evaluation of German active labour market policies
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the results of studies that investigate the most important active labour market policy (ALMP) measures in Germany. A focus is also on programmes devoted to foster entrepreneurship which can make important contributions to a country’s growth and social welfare. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on quantitative and qualitative assessments and a comparison of results of previous studies on AL…
Regional knowledge, entrepreneurial culture, and innovative start-ups over time and space―an empirical investigation
We investigate the role of entrepreneurship culture and the historical knowledge base of a region on current levels of new business formation in innovative industries. The analysis is for German regions and covers the time period 1907–2014. We find a pronounced positive relationship between high levels of historical self-employment in science-based industries and new business formation in innovative industries today. This long-term legacy effect …
Failing role models and the formation of fear of entrepreneurial failure
Entrepreneurial role models influence decisions to start firms. This effect is even stronger if peers and observers live in the same region. However, most studies remain silent about the role of entrepreneurial failure for the direction of role modeling. Failed role models can trigger a deterrence of entrepreneurship in others of the same region. We hypothesize that observing successful entrepreneurs reduces fear of failure, while observing busin…
Historical and current spatial differences in female labour force participation
New Kibs on the bloc
This study investigates the effect of local manufacturing on start-up activity across knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries by relying on the natural experiment of German reunification. KIBS did not exist in the former socialist East Germany. The findings show that local manufacturing affected the co-location of new KIBS firms in East Germany while there was no such effect for West Germany, where the KIBS sector was already well…
Historical shocks and persistence of economic activity
This paper investigates the persistence of self-employment in the districts of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, between 1925 and 2010. The area experienced a number of disruptive historical shocks during this period. This setting rules out the fact that the persistence of self-employment can be explained by the persistence of institutions and culture. Nevertheless, a high level of persistence of industry-specific self-employment rates is found. It…
Migration restrictions and long-term regional development
This article investigates the long-run impact of a migration barrier on regional development. The analysis is based on the large-scale expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II (WWII). Expellees were not allowed to resettle in the French occupation zone in the first years after the War while there was no such legislation in the other occupation zones (USA; UK; Soviet Union). The temporary migration barrier had long-l…
Historical roots of entrepreneurship-facilitating culture and innovation activity
There is a research gap with respect to understanding the role of cultural attitudes in favour of entrepreneurial activity for actual start-up behaviour. The paper combines historical self-employment data with a psychological measure for entrepreneurial attitudes. The results reveal a positive relationship between the historical level of self-employment in a region and the presence of people with an entrepreneurial personality structure today. Th…
Types of institutions and well-being of self-employed and paid employees in Europe
This paper analyzes the role of different types of institutions, such as entrepreneurship-facilitating entry conditions, labor market regulations, quality of government, and perception of corruption for individual well-being among self-employed and paid employed individuals. Well-being is operationalized by job and life satisfaction of individuals in 32 European countries measured by data from EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SIL…
Does Successful Innovation Require Large Urban Areas? Germany as a Counterexample
Popular theories claim that innovation activities should be located in large cities because of more favorable environmental conditions that are absent in smaller cities or peripheral areas. Germany provides a counterexample to such theories. We argue that a major reason behind the geography of innovation in Germany is the country’s pronounced legacy of political fragmentation that created a decentralized settlement structure, shaped the geographi…
Historical episodes and their legacies across space
There is a growing amount of literature in economic geography showing that historical episodes can leave long‐lasting cultural and institutional legacies across space. For credibly identifying such persistent effects the analyses should not pick up trends preceding the respective episodes. Against this background, the paper re‐examines the famous case of the German division and reunification. The empirical focus is on the persistent mark‐up of wo…
Historical roots of entrepreneurship in different regional contexts—the case of Poland
Entrepreneurship is often found to be highly persistent over time. Although the historical roots of persisting effects of entrepreneurship are partially uncovered, their mechanisms remained largely unclear. To understand the historical roots of contemporaneous regional entrepreneurship, we exploit different types of historical self-employment in regions of Poland, a country that experienced different types of disruptive developments. In contrast …
Long‐term decline of regions and the rise of populism
What characterizes regions where right‐wing populist parties are relatively successful? A prominent hypothesis proposed in the emerging “geography of discontent” literature claims that places that are “left behind” constitute a breeding ground for the rise of populism. We re‐examine this hypothesis by analyzing the rise of populism in Germany. Our results suggest that high vote shares of populist parties are associated with the long‐term decline …
On the Roman origins of entrepreneurship and innovation in Germany
We investigate whether the development of regional disparities in entrepreneurship and innovation in Germany can be traced back to Roman rule 2000 years ago. We find a lasting positive Roman effect on the level and quality of entrepreneurship and innovation. This effect might be due to the imprint of local hard factors, such as interregional social and economic exchange, particularly emerging from the integration into the Roman Empire. This effec…
Comprehensive Patent Data of the German Democratic Republic 1949–1990
We document the generation and the content of the Comprehensive Patent Database (CPDB) of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (1949–1990), which is freely available at GESIS https://doi.org/10.7802/2448 . The database contains all patents granted in the GDR and published by the Office of Inventions and Patents (later: German Patent and Trade Mark Office/DPMA). The core database covers the years 1950–1990 and contains 24 variables with manually c…
Industrial Monuments in Germany
We describe the procedure for compiling a list of industrial monuments in the regions of Germany and the resulting data set. This includes detailed insights into the absolute and relative numbers of industrial monuments, categorized into production, traffic, and supply. In addition, we provide an overview of the regional distribution of the number of industrial monuments in Germany. Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria exhibit the largest shares of ind…
From values to ventures
Economics (23 works) · Economic geography (16 works) · Entrepreneurship (16 works) · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences (15 works) · Political science (14 works) · Geography (13 works) · Business (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · German (9 works) · Law (9 works)