Locational Behaviour and the Mobility of Firms in West Germany

The paper analyses industrial migration in the Federal Republic of Germany. The investigation proceeds from the hypothesis that firms have a strong preference to remain in situ. Consequently, in order to explain industrial migration, the conditions necessary to induce a willingness to move have to be taken into account. Following on from the discussion of the circumstances under which firms may be expected to be willing to move, a sectorally and spatially differentiated analysis is conducted on the basis of data on industrial migration between 1964 and 1979.