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The Caring Hand that Cripples: The East German Labor Market After Reunification (Detailed Version)

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Author Info
Dennis J. Snower () (Kiel Institute for the World Economy, University of Kiel, CEPR and IZA Bonn)
Christian Merkl () (Kiel Institute for the World Economy and University of Kiel)

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Abstract

The East German labor market has hardly made any progress since German reunification, despite massive migration flows and support from the West. We argue that East Germany is in trouble precisely because of the support it has received. This paper explores the phenomenon of "the caring hand that cripples," arising from bargaining by proxy, the adoption of the West German welfare system and the associated employment persistence. Even the steady decrease of labor cost (normalized by productivity) since the beginning of the nineties did not help to kick start the East. We suggest that labor force participants fell into "traps," concerning low skills, ageing of the workforce, labor-saving capital and skills, capital underutilization, and unemployment arising from the decline of the tradable sector.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2066.

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Length: 45 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2006
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2066

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Related research
Keywords: German unification labor markets labor market traps

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
P2 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Systems and Transition Economies

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Yu-Fu Chen & Michael Funke, 2003. "Labour Demand in Germany: An Assessment of Non-Wage Labour Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Wilke, Ralf A., 2004. "New Estimates of the Duration and Risk of Unemployment for West-Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-26, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  4. David Coe & Dennis Snower, 1996. "Policy Complementarities: The Case for Fundamental Labor Market Reform," Archive Discussion Papers 9625, Birkbeck, Department of Economics.
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  5. Flaig, Gebhard & Steiner, Viktor, 1989. "Stability and Dynamic Properties of Labour Demand in West German Manufacturing," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 51(4), pages 395-412, November.
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  7. Felix Fitzroy, Michael Funke, 1998. "Skills, Wages and Employment in East and West Germany," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 32(5), pages 459-467, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Burda, Michael C & Funke, Michael, 1991. "German Trade Unions After Unification: Third Degree Wage Discriminating Monopolists?," CEPR Discussion Papers 573, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Jennifer Hunt, 2000. "Why Do People Still Live in East Germany?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 201, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Falk, Martin & Koebel, Bertrand, 2001. "A Dynamic Heterogeneous Labour Demand Model for German Manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 339-48, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Brücker, Herbert & Trübswetter, Parvati, 2004. "Do the Best Go West? An Analysis of the Self-Selection of Employed East-West Migrants in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 986, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  12. Regina Riphahn & Anja Thalmaier & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 1999. "Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen für Geringqualifizierte," IZA Research Reports 2, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  13. Henning Klodt, 2000. "Industrial Policy and the East German Productivity Puzzle," German Economic Review, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 1(3), pages 315-333, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Michael C. Burda & Wolfgang Härdle & Marlene Müller & Axel Werwatz, 1998. "Semiparametric analysis of German East-West migration intentions: facts and theory," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 525-541. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Michael C. Burda & Jennifer Hunt, 2001. "From Reunification to Economic Integration: Productivity and the Labor Market in Eastern Germany," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 32(2001-2), pages 1-92. [Downloadable!]
  16. Bonin, Holger & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2000. "The Post-Unification German Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 185, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  17. Christian Grund, 2006. "Severance payments for dismissed employees in Germany," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 49-71, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Merkl, Christian & Snower, Dennis J., 2006. "The Caring Hand that Cripples: The East German Labour Market after Reunification," CEPR Discussion Papers 5656, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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