IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mhr/jinste/urnsici0932-4569(199912)1554_710ttgita_2.0.tx_2-a.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Two Germanies: Information Technology and Economic Divergence, 1949-1989

Author

Listed:
  • Ulrich Blum
  • Leonard Dudley

Abstract

Post reunification estimates of East German per capita income were barely one-half the officially reported level. This paper tries to explain this discrepancy and to account for the implied postwar economic divergence between the two Germanies. The statistical discrepancy is attributed to a deterioration in the quality of East German production that coincided with the introduction of information technologies. Institutional arrangements were not allowed to adapt and became inefficient. Economic divergence is explained with a model of collusion in which the East German regime failed to make the necessary structural adjustment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulrich Blum & Leonard Dudley, 1999. "The Two Germanies: Information Technology and Economic Divergence, 1949-1989," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 155(4), pages 710-710, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:sici:0932-4569(199912)155:4_710:ttgita_2.0.tx_2-a
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mohr/jite/1999/00000155/00000004/art00008
    Download Restriction: Fulltext access is included for subscribers to the printed version.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bischoff, Ivo, 2002. "Efficiency-Enhancing Effects Of Private And Collective Enterprises In Transitional China," Discussion Papers 26467, University of Giessen, Center for International Development and Environmental Research.
    2. Blum, Ulrich, 2001. "Borders matter!: Regional integration in Europe and North America," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 08/01, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    3. Donghyun Park, 2002. "Opportunities and Challenges of New Economy for the Regional Development in East Asia," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 5(2), pages 3-20, September.
    4. Blum Ulrich & Dudley Leonard, 2000. "Blood, Sweat, and Tears: The Rise and Decline of the East German Economy, 1949–1988 / Blut, Schweiß, Tränen: Aufstieg und Niedergang der ostdeutschen Wirtschaft, 1949–1988," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 220(4), pages 438-452, August.
    5. Blum Ulrich, 2023. "What Can Ukraine Learn from Aufbau Ost?," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Sciendo, vol. 58(2), pages 119-126, March.
    6. Blum, Ulrich, 2011. "An Economic Life in Vain − Path Dependence and East Germany’s Pre- and Post-Unification Economic Stagnation," IWH Discussion Papers 10/2011, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    7. Blum, Ulrich, 2011. "Can Korea Learn from German Unification?," IWH Discussion Papers 3/2011, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:sici:0932-4569(199912)155:4_710:ttgita_2.0.tx_2-a. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Thomas Wolpert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/jite .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.