the European Cluster Observatory for
their size, level of specialisation and location in "innovative regions", Germany occupies 30 places.
Germany experimented with American- style standardised production during
and after the second world war, which was one reason why it imported unskilled
guest workers from Turkey and elsewhere. The Siren across the Atlantic called again in the 1990s and 2000s, urging Germany to deregulate, embrace services and maximise "shareholder value". When that call
was silenced by the financial crisis, "Germany had its consensus model to go back
to," says Gustav Horn of the union-linked Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
Small towns in Germany
Hans Beckhoff, boss of the automation company that bears his name, does not come off as a throwback. His silver-grey hair is modishly long, his collar unbuttoned.
