Munich/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - According to the Munich Ifo Institute, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's economy shrank by 1.4 percent in the third quarter. In a comparison of the federal states, the north-east came in second to last, ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia, for which economic researchers estimated a minus of 2.8 percent.
According to the Ifo data from Wednesday, economic output shrank in five federal states, in all others it grew or remained constant. The highest growth nationwide was reported for Schleswig-Holstein at 2.4 percent. The basis is a new estimation method developed by economic researchers. The figures are a comparison to the previous quarter and are seasonally and calendar adjusted.
The information for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania matches data from the State Statistical Office. According to this, industry in the country posted lower sales for three months in a row than in the same month last year.
According to the Ifo, there was clearly above-average growth in the third quarter in Rhineland-Palatinate with 1.8 percent and Hamburg with 1.6 percent. On the other hand, the economy developed well below average - in addition to NRW and MV - also in Saxony-Anhalt (-0.9 percent).
According to Ifo, structural features are decisive for the differences. "In the case of Schleswig-Holstein, it shows that countries with higher excess savings in the Corona years now have greater consumption opportunities," said Ifo researcher Robert Lehmann. "Even federal states with a strong car industry (Bremen) or with a high proportion of services (Berlin) are doing quite well." In contrast, countries with lower growth have a higher share of energy-intensive production - such as North Rhine-Westphalia with the metal industry - or a higher inflation rate - such as Saxony-Anhalt.
