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Post-Unification Wage Growth in East Germany

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  • Jennifer Hunt

Abstract

Following monetary union with west Germany in June 1990 the median real monthly wage of prime age east German workers rose by 83% in six years. I use the German Socio-Economic Panel data to investigate the determinants of this wage growth and some of its implications. For the 1990-1991 period I find that the biggest gainers were low-wage workers generally, and women and the less educated specifically. In the 1991-1996 period the biggest gainers were women and the better educated. Job changing rates were high: a majority of workers had changed jobs by 1996. The return to job changing, particularly changing to a job in the west, was high in 1990-1991 but fell greatly in the later period, so that overall only 18% of wage growth was due to job changing within the east, and 7% to east-west job changing.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Hunt, 1998. "Post-Unification Wage Growth in East Germany," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 304, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    • Handle: RePEc:wdi:papers:1998-304
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies

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