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Wage differentials between East and West Germany: are they related to the location or to the people?

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  • W. Smolny
  • M. Kirbach

Abstract

Despite rapid economic integration and massive help from the Federal Government, large wage differences between East and West Germany still persist. We ask whether those differences are related to disadvantageous locational conditions in East Germany or could be found in the characteristics of the people living there. This article analyses income adjustment of East-West migrants based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), 1990-2008. Because migrants earned their income in both East and West Germany, the effect of the location can be identified. The results indicate that the wage differences cannot be attributed to the people.

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  • W. Smolny & M. Kirbach, 2011. "Wage differentials between East and West Germany: are they related to the location or to the people?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(9), pages 873-879.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:18:y:2011:i:9:p:873-879
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2010.511990
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Schnabel Claus, 2016. "United, Yet Apart? A Note on Persistent Labour Market Differences between Western and Eastern Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 157-179, March.
    2. Alina Sorgner & Michael Fritsch & Alexander Kritikos, 2017. "Do entrepreneurs really earn less?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 251-272, August.
    3. Jan Kluge & Michael Weber, 2015. "Decomposing the German East-West wage gap," ifo Working Paper Series 205, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    4. Nicole Gürtzgen & André Diegmann (né Nolte), 2020. "Does low‐pay persist across different regimes? Evidence from German Unification," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 413-440, July.
    5. Petrunyk Inna & Pfeifer Christian, 2016. "Life Satisfaction in Germany After Reunification: Additional Insights on the Pattern of Convergence," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 217-239, March.
    6. Smolny Werner, 2012. "Cyclical Adjustment, Capital-labor Substitution and Total Factor Productivity Convergence – East Germany After Unification," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(4), pages 445-459, August.
    7. Emmler, Julian & Fitzenberger, Bernd, 2020. "The role of unemployment and job change when estimating the returns to migration," IAB-Discussion Paper 202037, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Ekaterina Selezneva & Philippe Van Kerm, 2013. "Inequality-Adjusted Gender Wage Differentials in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 579, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    9. Steffen Müller, 2021. "Der Ost-West-Produktivitätsunterschied: Was sagt die mikroökonomische Forschung? [The East-West-German Productivity Gap: Lessons from firm-level data?]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(1), pages 21-25, March.
    10. Riphahn, Regina T. & Sauer, Irakli, 2024. "Earnings Assimilation of Post-reunification East German Migrants in West Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 17148, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Jan Kluge & Michael Weber, 2018. "Decomposing the German East–West wage gap," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(1), pages 91-125, January.
    12. de la Vega, Noa, 2022. "The differential effect of childbirth on men's and women's careers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Ekaterina Selezneva & Philippe Van Kerm, 2016. "A distribution-sensitive examination of the gender wage gap in Germany," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 21-40, March.
    14. Heather Dickey & Alessa M. Widmaier, 2021. "The persistent pay gap between Easterners and Westerners in Germany: A quarter‐century after reunification," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(3), pages 605-631, June.
    15. Blien Uwe & Möller Joachim & Hong Van Phan thi & Brunow Stephan, 2016. "Long-Lasting Labour Market Consequences of German Unification," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 181-216, March.
    16. Giorgio Brunello & Elena Crivellaro & Lorenzo Rocco, 2012. "Lost in transition?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 20(4), pages 637-676, October.
    17. Emmler, Julian & Fitzenberger, Bernd, 2020. "The Role of Unemployment and Job Change When Estimating the Returns to Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 13740, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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