Regional Economic and Structural Change

Regional Economic and Structural Change of the Rhine/Ruhr Area

The Rhine and Rhur area of Germany played a significant economic role throughout the 20th century, with much of the country's industrial production being situated there, together with many of its vital strategic resources. It is not surprising, then, that the region was particularly important during World War II and the Cold War that followed, with large concentrations of military forces and defensive ordnance being part of its makeup. In this strategic capacity as the "gateway to Western Europe," it is also little wonder the structural changes that took place in this region during the 20th century would have far wider implications. To identify the types and scope of these structural changes, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning the regional economic and structural changes that have occurred in the Rhine/Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) in Germany from the beginning of the 1900 century to the present. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

The Rhine/Ruhr region of Germany enjoys a number of natural resources and geographic attributes that make it particularly well suited for industrial applications. For example, Spencer (1984) reports that because of the coal and other natural resources available in the Rhine/Ruhr region, by area attracted industry and workers and by 1913, there were more than 400,000 miners in the Ruhr area. In the coming years, technological innovations in steel production, though, made steel workers more productive and fewer increases were seen in this employment sector; by contrast, the number of coal workers needed to fuel the steel industry continued to increase (Spencer 1984). Although the Rhine/Ruhr region experienced some labor unrest early in the 20th century, it has been markedly more business-friendly and less likely to engage in strikes than many other regions of Germany (Geary 1999). Other geographic features have also contributed to the Rhine/Rhur region's important throughout the 20th century. For instance, Verweij reports the early on, "Shipping on the Rhine has heavily benefited from, as well as contributed to, the massive industrialization and urbanization that have taken place along its shores. The river connects the biggest seaport in the world (Rotterdam) with the largest inland port on the globe (Duisburg)" (2000:79).

Despite the structural changes that swept the country place following the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, the Ruhr area is still an enormously important resource for the reunified Germany. In this regard, Verweij adds that, "The German Ruhr area remains one of the biggest centers for steel production in the world. About 20 per cent of the world's chemical industry is situated along the banks of the river" (79). One of the unfortunate but perhaps predictable consequences of concentrating increasingly large numbers of workers in housing the immediate proximity of these industrial sites has been the environmental and health-related issues that have become increasingly pronounced in recent years. For example, Verweij notes that in the Ruhr area, "Other important industries consist of paper and pulp companies, as well as potassium and coal mines. At present, the river receives the wastewater of about fifty million people, chemical and other industries, potassium and coal mines, as well as agricultural sources. It is also used as a source for drinking water for more than twenty million people" (79).

Although remediation efforts have been underway by the private and public sectors more recently, the cause of this pollution can largely be traced to its canalization following World War II and a lack of environmentally responsible infrastructure capable of handling the amounts of toxic discharge and other effluents that are produced in the area. According to Verweij, "The canalization of the Rhine, as well as the discharge of polluted wastewater from industrial, agricultural and municipal sources, has had a devastating impact on the ecosystems of the river, at least until the middle of the 1980s" (2000:79). The intensive push for massive industrialization to rebuild the German economy following the end of World War II can be discerned from the official records of the period. According to Verweij, "Records from both governmental and non-governmental organizations show that the environmental degradation was at its peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s" (2000:79). The structural changes that took place following reunification also had a significant impact on the economic performance of the Rhine/Ruhr area. In this regard, Braczyk, Fuchs and Wolf report that, "The problems of structural change and renewal in the Ruhr area have also caused problems for the economic performance of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in general. Total employment in NRW grew less than the West German average. To a large extent this weaker performance can be attributed to labor market developments in the Ruhr area. Unemployment in NRW (12 per cent) is above the (West) German average (10.6 per cent) with a peak of 14.9 per cent in the Ruhr area" (1999:134).

While these structural changes introduced some constraints on employment and production in the region, they also created some new opportunity for diversification that have been increasingly important from an economic developmental perspective. These changes reflect a transition from the previous traditionally-structured regional economy to what Braczyk and his associates describe as "a new economy which is based on future-oriented markets. One prominent example is the environmental protection industry which accounted for about 100,000 jobs in 1993" (Braczyk et al. 1999:134).