We revisit the natural experiments of division and unification of Germany. The negative shock to local market access following the division of Germany led to a fast and strong downward adjustment of the size of West German cities near the new border. In contrast, the positive shock of reunification did not lead to any change in their relative size. Even three decades after reunification, no convergence can be observed. We show that local subsidies to East Germany could have contributed to this asymmetry in time.

中文翻译：

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当市场准入的增加不能刺激城市增长时


我们重新审视德国分裂与统一的自然实验。德国分裂后对当地市场准入的负面冲击导致新边界附近的西德城市规模快速而强烈地向下调整。相比之下，统一的积极冲击并没有导致它们的相对规模发生任何变化。即使在统一三十年后，也没有观察到任何趋同。我们表明，对东德的地方补贴可能会导致这种时间上的不对称。