This paper analyses annual, age-specific retirement rates in Germany between 1971 and 1991. The time-series data show significant changes in overall and age-specific retirement behavior over the 21 year period. The literature provides two alternative explanations for the observed developments:...

This paper uses micro data to analyze the wage structures in East Germany and West Germany before and after unification. In 1988, the wage distribution in East Germany was much more compressed than in West Germany or in the U.S. Since the collapse of Communism and unification with West Germany,...

Employment termination in East Germany in the first nine months after unification is analyzed within a discrete hazard rate model with three absorbing states, namely short-time work, unemployment and non-participation. Estimation is based on a cohort of employed individuals in June 1990 and the...