Employment Policy in Transition

A historically unique experiment is about to enter its second decade - German unification. Early hopes for a rapid and smooth economic transformation soon turned out to be overly optimistic. Despite massive financial transfers, the political promise of a "blooming landscape" remains a vision. Actual developments have left deep scars on the labor market, and the effects will be felt for decades to come. Was this outcome to be expected, perhaps even inevitable? What went wrong, and what were the available options? Or is the current state of Eastern German labor market in fact better than is commonly assumed?

The book summarises the major lessons from the East German labor market in transition and puts them into context with the first experiences in the other transition countries. After an introduction to the subject and an overview of labor market developments in East Germany, part 1 of this volume turns to specific issues of adjustment: wage trends, business start-ups, and early retirement. Part 2 reviews the policy options available in the transformation process and their labor market implications: wage subsidies, profit sharing, invested pay, further education, and various forms of active labor market policy. The final chapter draws parallels with the experience of other transition economies.