Would Germany Be Wealthier if Berlin Didn't Exist?

Germany would actually be better off without Berlin. That, at least, might be the skim-read conclusion to be drawn from a challenging new report from Cologne’s Institute of German Economy. The report, released Tuesday, notes that Germany’s per capita GDP would actually be higher if Berlin and its population were removed from national economic figures.

This state of affairs isn’t just striking, it seems to be unique. Of the 15 E.U. countries covered by the survey, only Germany possessed a capital that failed to boost per capita GDP above what it would have been had the city not existed. So is this a sign that Berlin is failing?