Human capital and employment growth in German metropolitan areas: New evidence

German metropolitan areas with highly skilled workers became increasingly skilled between 1975 and 2003, creating faster urban employment growth in both the former East and the West. However, by using metropolitan areas instead of administrative regions and correcting important biases, it is shown that the effect of the share of college graduates on growth is at least one-third smaller and closer to 0.5% employment growth for a 10% increase in human capital. Moreover, positive effects of high-school graduates with vocational training are found, especially if the concentration of technical professionals is high. City success may thus depend on attracting the 'right' combination of skills. © 2013 Copyright Regional Studies Association.