Also Brandenburg was hit by the global financial crisis. However, its regions, industries and firms have been affected by the recession differently, as they also differ in terms of structure, international integration and adaption strategies. To implement suitable instruments of economic policy to support the economy in coping with the crisis, accurate and detailed information on current developments are needed. Due to several limitations, official statistics are only of limited help in this task. The study explores, which data and additional information sources can be employed to analyze the effects f the international financial and economic crisis on the economy in Brandenburg.
The study surveys existing official and non-official data and presents and discusses approaches to analyse these data in the required context. In particular methods to observe and forecast regional and local business cycles, to assess and compare the structure and competitiveness of locations, to investigate aggregate structural trends and to analyse firm-level micro-data are included.
Among others, the data sets of the Federal Statistical Office and the statistical Offices of the Länder, of the Federal Employment Office, of their Research Data Centres, regular acquisitions of other institutions as well as commercial databases are explored on their usage in the required context.
As expected, the usage of analytical methods to investigate the effects of the financial crises on the economy in Brandenburg is often determined by the availability of suitable data. The existing deterministic and statistical-econometric approaches rely on the input of meaningful, high-quality indicators or even on time-series with certain minimum lengths. However, in spite of their limitations, official (time-series) statistics, also in combination, are important in such analyses and might i. e. be used to generate additional short-term information and close data gaps. Additionally, the use of alternative data sources can complement the findings. A utility assessment of their implementation has to trade off gains and costs, though. Also for that, the study provides some important indications.
The publication in an ifo Dresden Studie is planned.
