Changing Western German Internal Migration Systems during the Second Half of the 1980s

Abstract

"This study has two purposes. First, we will analyze in detail the extent to which regional demographic changes during the second half of the 1980s represent a return to concentration in western Germany.... The second purpose of this paper will be to measure regional demographic impacts in western Germany as the result of the large East to West movement of population that occurred before formal unification...." The results indicate that "the slow downward trend toward greater spatial deconcentration in West Germany during the time period 1970 to 1984 shifted back toward concentration from 1985 and through 1988." This involved both labor market changes affecting primarily the population aged 25-49, and greater concentrations of population in densely populated regions such as the Ruhr-Rhine and Saarland.