Vocational schools as an instrument of interregional competition—Empirical evidence from German counties

We analyze expenditures on vocational schools on county level using data from 193 West-German counties between 2001 and 2006. These expenditures represent the main public input to the widely acknowledged German apprenticeship system by local governments. We use spatial econometrics to test for spatial correlation in counties’ expenditure on vocational schools but find no evidence that vocational schools serve as instrument in inter-regional competition. This conclusion receives further support by an alternative test, in which we compare the teacher-to-pupil ratio of counties on the state border and interior counties. The test does not give any indication that the teacher-to-pupil-ratio is higher in counties located at the state border.