High tech in Bavaria

Abstract

"It is my intention to make Bavaria the most modern country in Europe," declared Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss on the occasion of his inaugural speech on December 10, 1986. This is a very ambitious goal in the light of the fact that Bavaria does not enjoy a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. According to the Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1986 the GDP per capita has been 31,843 DM on the average, but only 31,560 DM in Bavaria. Ahead of Bavaria among the states of the German Federal Republic are not only the city states of Hamburg, Bremen, and West Berlin, but also Hessen and Baden-W~irttemberg. Evidently, Bavaria is for the present by no means the leader among the states of the German Federal Republic. It is also far behind the richest country in Europe, Switzerland, with a 1983 GDP per capita of 38,600 DM. One would obtain a much more positive picture, however, by not looking at the present situation but at the trends of the last years. • Between 1970-85 the growth of GDP at constant prices has been 38.6 percent for West Germany as a whole, but 55.5 percent for Bavaria.