Abstract

Large crises affect regional economies differently, partly because of the specific characteristics of the crisis in question, but also because of differences in regional economic structures, in experiences in dealing with previous crises and in policy reactions at the national and regional level. The effects of the current COVID-19 crisis undoubtedly also differentiate between countries and regions. However, previous research provides only limited evidence on regional economic effects of pandemic crises and existing findings are often not applicable because basic conditions with respect to globalisation, ICT and mobility of individuals and goods differ significantly from the current situation. Based on first observations, we see two outstanding effects of COVID-19. First, containment measures restrict mobility and faceto-face interaction thereby diminishing classical Agglomeration advantages and in particular learning opportunities that cities provide. Secondly, and simultaneously, global production networks are strongly disturbed which may lead to a regionalization of value chains, however, without agglomeration advantages. How this complex situation will affect regional resilience and disparities will be the core aim of this project. It will do so, by comparing the regional effects of COVID-19 in Germany and China, using complementary quantitative techniques and qualitative case-study methods. The project will not only lead to policy-relevant empirical research results, it will also reevaluate the explanatory power of theoretical concepts in economic geography and regional economics around Agglomeration advantages, global production networks and regional resilience.