Die Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), hat zusammen mit dem DIW Berlin und dem Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Polnischen Akademie der Wissenschaft, Warschau, untersucht, wie die Unternehmen in Polen und in Ostdeutschland die Bedingungen an ihrem Standort bewerten und ob...

The paper concentrates on the question whether the low level of productivity in East Germany can be explained by deficits in the stock of human capital. It is shown that figures on ?formal? qualifications yield a too optimistic view on human capital endowments; in fact, the effective stock on...

A number of studies suggest that mortality rates among East German men increased in the wake of reunification, in particular between 1989 and 1991, in some age groups by up to thirty percent. This study first examines the developments of mortality and cause of death statistics based on detailed...

Using unique new data and a recently introduced non-linear decomposition technique this paper shows that the huge difference in the propensity to export between West and East German plants is to a large part due to differences in firm size and human capital intensity.

The present paper sheds light on how growth of young firms is affected by expansive strategies and the socioeconomic heritage of their main actors. Socioeconomic heritage has to do with socialization, prior socioeconomic circumstances, and regional growth conditions; the term is elaborated upon...

Using register data from the IAB employment sample, this paper studies the wage structure in the German labor market throughout the years 1992-2001. Wage dispersion has generally been rising. The increase was more pronounced in East Germany and occurred predominantly in the lower part of the...

This paper assess determinants of productivity gaps between firms in the European transition countries and regions and firms in West Germany. The analysis is conducted at the firm level by use of a unique database constructed by field work. The determinants tested in a simple econometric...

This paper assesses whether the economy of East Germany is catching up with the West German region in terms of welfare. While the primary measure for convergence and catching up is per capita output, we also look at other macroeconomic indicators such as unemployment rates, wage rates, and...