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PD Dr Mirko Titze

PD Dr Mirko Titze
Current Position

since 4/14

Head of the Centre for Evidence-based Policy Advice (IWH-CEP)

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

since 1/13

Head of the Research Group Evaluation of Subsidy Programmes

Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) – Member of the Leibniz Association

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Research Interests
  • convergence of regional economic development (focus East-Germany, new EU members)
  • efficiency of subsidisation in the EU

Mirko Titze joined the institute in 2006. His research focuses on impact assessment of subsidy programmes for firms and regions.

Mirko Titze graduated at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and habilitated at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. From 2011 to 2013, he worked as an interim professor at the chair of Regional Policy at the faculty of Spatial Planning at the TU Dortmund University (formerly Professor Dr Franz-Josef Bade).

Your contact

PD Dr Mirko Titze
PD Dr Mirko Titze
- Department Präsidialbereich
Send Message +49 345 7753-861

Publications

Citations
906

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Identifying Cooperation for Innovation―a Comparison of Data Sources

Michael Fritsch Mirko Titze Matthias Piontek

in: Industry and Innovation, No. 6, 2020

Abstract

The value of social network analysis is critically dependent on the comprehensive and reliable identification of actors and their relationships. We compare regional knowledge networks based on different types of data sources, namely, co-patents, co-publications, and publicly subsidized collaborative R&D projects. Moreover, by combining these three data sources, we construct a multilayer network that provides a comprehensive picture of intraregional interactions. By comparing the networks based on the data sources, we address the problems of coverage and selection bias. We observe that using only one data source leads to a severe underestimation of regional knowledge interactions, especially those of private sector firms and independent researchers.

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The Regional Effects of a Place-based Policy – Causal Evidence from Germany

Matthias Brachert Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze

in: Regional Science and Urban Economics, November 2019

Abstract

The German government provides discretionary investment grants to structurally weak regions in order to reduce regional inequality. We use a regression discontinuity design that exploits an exogenous discrete jump in the probability of regional actors to receive investment grants to identify the causal effects of the policy. We find positive effects of the programme on district-level gross value-added and productivity growth, but no effects on employment and gross wage growth.

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Do Diasporas Affect Regional Knowledge Transfer within Host Countries? A Panel Analysis of German R&D Collaborations

Lutz Schneider Alexander Kubis Mirko Titze

in: Regional Studies, No. 1, 2019

Abstract

Interactive regional learning involving various actors is considered a precondition for successful innovations and, hence, for regional development. Diasporas as non-native ethnic groups are regarded as beneficial since they enrich the creative class by broadening the cultural base and introducing new routines. Using data on research and development (R&D) collaboration projects, the analysis provides tentative evidence that the size of diasporas positively affects the region’s share of outward R&D linkages enabling the exchange of knowledge. The empirical analysis further confirms that these interactions mainly occur between regions hosting the same diasporas, pointing to a positive effect of ethnic proximity rather than ethnic diversity.

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Working Papers

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Who Benefits from Place-based Policies? Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data

Philipp Grunau Florian Hoffmann Thomas Lemieux Mirko Titze

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 11, 2024

Abstract

We study the wage and employment effects of a German place-based policy using a research design that exploits conditionally exogenous EU-wide rules governing the program parameters at the regional level. The place-based program subsidizes investments to create jobs with a subsidy rate that varies across labor market regions. The analysis uses matched data on the universe of establishments and their employees, establishment-level panel data on program participation, and regional scores that generate spatial discontinuities in program eligibility and generosity. These rich data enable us to study the incidence of the place-based program on different groups of individuals. We find that the program helps establishments create jobs that disproportionately benefit younger and less-educated workers. Funded establishments increase their wages but, unlike employment, wage gains do not persist in the long run. Employment effects estimated at the local area level are slightly larger than establishment-level estimates, suggesting limited spillover effects. Using subsidy rates as an instrumental variable for actual subsidies indicates that it costs approximately EUR 25,000 to create a new job in the economically disadvantaged areas targeted by the program.

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Employment Effects of Investment Grants and Firm Heterogeneity – Evidence from a Staggered Adoption Approach

Eva Dettmann Mirko Titze Antje Weyh

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 6, 2023

Abstract

<p>This study estimates the firm-level employment effects of investment grants in Germany. In addition to the average treatment effect on the treated, we examine discrimination in the funding rules as potential source of effect heterogeneity. We combine a staggered difference-in-differences approach that explicitly models variations in treatment timing with a matching procedure at the cohort level. The findings reveal a positive effect of investment grants on employment development in the full sample. The subsample analysis yields strong evidence for heterogeneous effects based on firm characteristics and the economic environment. This can help to improve the future design of the program.</p>

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The Effect of Firm Subsidies on Credit Markets

Aleksandr Kazakov Michael Koetter Mirko Titze Lena Tonzer

in: IWH Discussion Papers, No. 24, 2022

Abstract

<p>We use granular project-level information for the largest regional economic development program in German history to study whether government subsidies to firms affect the quantity and quality of bank lending. We combine the universe of recipient firms under the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures program (GRW) with their local banks during 1998-2019. The modalities of GRW subsidies to firms are determined at the EU level. Therefore, we use it to identify bank outcomes. Banks with relationships to more subsidized firms exhibit higher lending volumes without any significant differences in bank stability. Subsidized firms, in turn, borrow more indicating that banks facilitate regional economic development policies.</p>

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Topics

Policy Evaluation East Germany
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