From State Socialism to Market Economy—Women's Employment in East Germany

1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1257-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Quack ◽  
F Maier
Keyword(s):  
Market Economy ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
East Germany ◽  
German Economy ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
German Model ◽  
East German ◽  
Political Dimensions

The transformation from a centrally planned economy to a market economy involves a wide-ranging redistribution of paid employment, income, and individual opportunities. Men and women in the former East Germany (GDR)—who before reunification had equal roles of participation in paid labour—have been affected in different ways by the restructuring of the East German economy. Women are now more often unemployed, and for longer periods, and face greater difficulties in finding a job. In order to explain these differences between men and women, the authors investigate the economic, social, and political dimensions of the transformation process. The main argument is that economic and social disadvantages affecting East German women are not just related to the economic and political transformation as such. Rather, they are rooted in a traditional gender division of paid work in the former GDR which was reinforced by the paternalistic family and social policy developed by the East German state. At the same time, however, East German women's experiences of being fully integrated into employment, and enjoying greater economic independence, make it unlikely that they will easily accept the West German model of partial labour-market integration.

Die Chemie- und Pharmaindustrie in Ostdeutschland

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
German States ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
East German ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Key Industry

Where is the East German chemical and pharmaceutical industry today? What is characteristic of the East, what is similar to the rest of the country? The analysis of many different structural features leads to a diverse picture of this key industry in East Germany. It differentiates between the two different branches chemistry and pharmacy as well as between the individual six East German states. Eastern chemistry has developed into a highly productive and internationally competitive industrial sector. The analysis of the location of East Germany is followed by a look at the challenges and opportunities for the East German chemical industry, a central player in the ongoing transformation process.

Wage Adjustment, Competitiveness and Unemployment – East Germany after Unification

2009 ◽  
Vol 229 (2-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Smolny
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
East Germany ◽  
German Economy ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Relative Wage ◽  
Wage Setting ◽  
East And West Germany ◽  
Market Situation ◽  
East German ◽  
Wage Adjustment

SummaryNearly 20 years after unification large differences of the labor market situation in East and West Germany persist. Wages are still considerably lower, the unemployment rate is about twice of the West German level, and the competitiveness of the East German economy seems to be low. This paper analyzes the process of (relative) wage adjustment in East Germany and the resulting development of competitiveness and unemployment differentials. We present estimates of the wage adjustment in East vs. West Germany based on wage convergence and effects of unemployment on wage growth. The central focus of the paper is the empirical analysis of the interaction of the development of competitiveness and the labor market situation. The results reveal large equilibrium gaps for wages and unemployment which are based on the wage-setting process, the behavior of competitiveness and the adjustment of unemployment.

THE MANAGEMENT OF TRANSFORMATION IN EAST GERMAN FIRMS

1996 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER WITT
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Optimal Sequence ◽  
Activity Network ◽  
Large Project ◽  
East German ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Transformation Processes ◽  
Stochastic Activity

The transformation of East Germany from a socialist to a market economy has brought about the need to restructure all East German firms. Managing this transformation process is comparable to the planning and controlling of a large project in a quickly changing economic environment. The main goal for the managers of firms in transition is to ensure the survival of their companies and to reduce the time required for the restructuring processes. The purpose of this study is to assess stochastic activity network analysis as a tool for the management of transformation. Network analysis allows to identify the necessary management activities, to plan the optimal sequence of these activities, and to control ongoing transformation processes. Our experiences so far suggest that the stochastic activity network technique GERT is a well suited technique for the analysis of transformation processes. To illustrate this new application of GERT, the study presents a simulation of a GERT activity network for the transformation process of a firm. The simulation is based on more than 20 in-depth case studies conducted in East Germany.

‘Another brick in the wall’. On the origins of nationalism in the ‘new’ federal states of Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-125
Author(s):  
A. V. Belinskii ◽  
M. V. Khorol’skaya
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Local Population ◽  
German Economy ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
East German

A relatively broad support enjoyed by the populist and nationalist parties and movements (AfD, National Democratic Party of Germany, PEGIDA), as well as a higher rate of hate crimes in the eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany raise a question on the nature of nationalism in this region. The present paper examines the causes of widespread xenophobic and nationalist sentiments in the ‘new’ federal states. To this end, the authors address a wide range of social-political and psychological factors, focusing on the historical roots and causes of the recent rise of nationalism in East Germany. Particularly, the authors show that the right-wing parties took advantage of popular frustration caused by the collapse of the East German economy after the country’s reunification and massive unemployment by putting all the blame on migrants. Nevertheless, the causes of growing xenophobia in East Germany were far from being solely economic. For example, the authors underline the role of the politics of memory in the GDR and primarily the approaches of its leaders to the issues of the Nazi past and their attempts to draw on the country’s history to shape a new national identity. However, the failure of the state to provide an unbiased view on the national history, rigid official ideology and its alienation from the popular demands have led to the growing nationalism in the GDR. Besides, a number of other aspects is pointed out which have also fostered xenophobic sentiments in this part of the country. Unlike West Germany which started to accept labour migrants from Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia back in 1950s, the GDR saw few foreigners and contacts between them and local population were limited. As a result, the paper not only helps to create a more detailed image of the East German nationalism but also to identify the underlying causes of the growing popularity of right-wing populist parties and movements in the FRG, most notably, the unfinished process of the country’s reunification and structural imbalances between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ federal states.

Strukturwandel in Ostdeutschland. Wirtschaftliche und soziale Folgen 30 Jahre nach dem Fall der Mauer

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 376-394
Author(s):  
Olaf Struck
Keyword(s):  
Structural Change ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
East Germany ◽  
German Economy ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Life Situation ◽  
Starting Position ◽  
East German

Zusammenfassung Sehr geringe Produktivität in der DDR und ein Einbruch der Märkte nach dem Zerfall der sozialistischen Wirtschaften, die Ausgangslage für die ostdeutsche Wirtschaft war schlecht. Und doch war Ostdeutschland nach dem Beitritt der DDR zur Bundesrepublik durch einen starken wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung bis nahe an ein westdeutsches Niveau heran gekennzeichnet. Zugleich sind vergleichsweise viele Menschen – nach einer Euphorie in der Anfangszeit – unzufrieden mit ihrer Lebenssituation. Im Folgenden wird ein Überblick über die wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Entwicklungen gegeben sowie ein Erklärungsversuch über diese Differenz zwischen Aufschwung und Unzufriedenheit unternommen. Abstract: Structural Change in East Germany. Economic and Social Consequences 30 Years After the Fall of the Wall Very low productivity in the GDR and a dramatic downturn of the market after the collapse of the socialist economies, the starting position for the East German economy was bad. Nevertheless, East Germany was characterized by a strong economic upswing close to a West German level after the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic. At the same time, comparatively many people are dissatisfied with their life situation after a phase of euphoria in the early days. The following is an overview of economic and as well as an attempt of explaining this difference between recovery and dissatisfaction.

Ideas, Institutions and Organized Capitalism: The German Model of Political Economy Twenty Years after Unification

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Allen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
German Economy ◽  
First Century ◽  
Social Market Economy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
German Model ◽  
Severe Recession ◽  
Social Market

For much of the past two decades since unification, the literature on the German economy has largely focused on the erosion of the German model of organized capitalism and emphasized institutional decline and the corresponding rise of neoliberalism. The first part of the article analyzes the strains unification placed on German economic performance that caused many observers to call for modification of the model in a more neo-liberal direction. The second part takes a different focus and lays out the main rationale of the paper. It inquires why such a coordinated market economy was created in the first place and whether a renewed form of it might still be useful for Germany, the European Union, and other developed democracies in the early twenty-first century. The third section articulates the origins of the institutional and ideational components of these coordinated market economy models, during both the Bismarckian and Social Market Economy periods. The final portion inquires whether the failure of the contemporary liberal market economy approach in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis and severe recession represents a possible opening for the creation of a third coordinated market economy not only for Germany but for a redesigned European Union.

The German Model Reconsidered

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-ki Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
German Economy ◽  
Business Activity ◽  
National Boundary ◽  
German Model ◽  
German Newspapers ◽  
Liberal Market Economy

The German model of political economy that had been an enviablealternative to the liberal market until the late 1980s in the literature ofpolitical economy was under serious structural crisis throughout the1990s, causing serious doubts about its viability. Many neoliberalsand industrial experts in Germany began to doubt whether Germanywas an attractive place for business activity, initiating the StandortDeutschland debate. Even German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder conceded“the end of German model.”1 Many political economists andjournalists expected and recommended imitating the Americanmodel of a liberal market. Prominent German newspapers and magazinessuch as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Spiegel, and DieWoche ran articles titled “The Discovery of America” and “Jobwunderin Amerika.” Wolfgang Streeck, one of the main proponents of theGerman model, expected the convergence of the German economytoward an American-led liberal market economy under globalizationbecause of “a secular exhaustion of the German model.” Streeckbelieved that the postwar German model was based on the politicsbetween labor and capital within a national boundary, but globalizationrepresents a fluidity of financial and labor markets that extricateswhatever coordination has been nationally accomplished.

The Western Connection: Western Support for the East German Opposition

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 74-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Secret Police ◽  
The West ◽  
Media Attention ◽  
East German ◽  
Environmental Network ◽  
The Relationship

Without help from the west, the small East German opposition,such as it was, never would have achieved as much as it did. Themoney, moral support, media attention, and protection provided bywestern supporters may have made as much of a difference to theopposition as West German financial support made to the East Germanstate. Yet this help was often resented and rarely acknowledgedby eastern activists. Between 1988 and 1990, I worked withArche, an environmental network created in 1988 by East Germandissidents. During that time, the assistance provided by West Germans,émigré East Germans, and foreigners met with a level of distrustthat cannot entirely be blamed on secret police intrigue.Outsiders who tried to help faced a barrage of allegations and criticismof their work and motives. Dissidents who elected to remain inEast Germany distrusted those who emigrated, and vice versa,reflecting an unfortunate tendency, even among dissidents, to internalizeelements of East German propaganda. Yet neither the helpand support the East German opposition received from outside northe mentalities that stood in its way have been much discussed. Thisessay offers a description and analysis of the relationship betweenthe opposition and its outside supporters, based largely on one person’sfirst-hand experience.

“Socialist Realist” Critiques of Neoliberal “Shock Therapy”

2019 ◽  
pp. 431-451
Author(s):  
April A. Eisman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Shock Therapy ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Neoliberal Capitalism ◽  
Works Of Art ◽  
German Art ◽  
Socialist Realist ◽  
East German ◽  
Insight Into

This article focuses on the East German artistic response to the 1973 putsch in Chile, an event now recognized as foundational in the development of neoliberalism. Outraged and saddened, artists in East Germany responded to the putsch with thousands of works of art. These works disrupt Western expectations for East German art, which was far more modern and complex than the term “socialist realism” might suggest. They also offer insight into the horrors of the putsch and remind us that there have been—and can once again be—alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. In addition to creating prints, paintings, and sculptures, East German artists organized solidarity events to raise money for Chile and spearheaded a book project with artists from sixteen communist and capitalist countries to document the event and losses suffered. This article ultimately shows that communist visual culture can serve as a model for art as an activist practice.

From Economic Miracle to Standort Deutschland: Exchanging Economic Metaphors in the Federal Republic of Germany

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-65
Author(s):  
Ben Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
Federal Republic ◽  
German Economy ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Economic Miracle ◽  
Economic Achievement ◽  
The World ◽  
German Model ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S

The history of the Federal Republic of Germany is closely connected with economic achievement. Enjoying a striking economic recovery in the 1950s, the FRG became the home of the “economic miracle.” Maturing into one of the most powerful economies in the world, it became known as the “German model” by the 1970s. Now, however, the chief metaphor for the German economy is “Standort Deutschland,” and therein lies the tale of the new German problem.

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