German foreign trade in the long run. development of a data ser in SITC standard (German Research Foundation grant, 2024 - 2027)

Germany is today one of the most internationally integrated economies in the world. This deep integration into the global economy has developed historically and has gone through various phases—from the "first wave of globalization" before the First World War, to the protectionist interwar period, and finally to the "hyperglobalization" of recent decades. However, the exact manner in which this interconnectedness took place—for example, which industries were the key drivers and initiators—has not yet been thoroughly researched.

One reason for this is that data on German foreign trade has so far not been processed in a standardized format, and therefore has rarely been used for studies investigating long-term developments. In this long-term project, available historical trade data will for the first time be systematically structured for the period from 1880 to the present, using the internationally recognized Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). The resulting data will be made available to international researchers through a publicly accessible database on GENESIS, the online portal of Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, and will be preserved for long-term use. To achieve this, the available trade statistics will first be digitized, the commodity flows reclassified, and compiled into trade volumes and values for Germany. Throughout this process, the official data will be critically evaluated based on the current state of research, and each individual figure will be transparently documented—tracing the path from source material to final output—according to the FAIR principles.

This newly created database will, for the first time, allow for a differentiated analysis of Germany’s foreign trade relations and those of its historical predecessors. It will also provide insights into the transformation of these relations over the past 150 years. By linking the data with input-output tables, it will become possible—on this basis alone—to study long-term industrial relocation and sourcing activities for each individual trade partner. Finally, the database—developed in close cooperation with international partners—will open up an entirely new field of internationally comparative research. Not only economic history, but economics as a whole will benefit significantly from this dataset.