Korean unification and banking system - An analysis in view of German experiences and Korean differences
Ralf Müller
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 139,
2001
Abstract
One of the reforms that have to be launched in a future unification process in Korea, which seems possible after the political negotiations last year, is the transformation of the North Korean banking system. The question arises whether Korea could profit from the German experience where banking transformation was one of the rather few success stories in unification. In 1990 the East German banking transformation was achieved relatively fast and uncomplicated due to considerable direct investments of the West German banks compounded with state guarantees for bad loans resulting from the credit business with existing GDR-corporations. Unfortunately, South Korea currently lacks some major prerequesites that contributed to the German banking unification, among them – and probably the most important one – is the lack of a sound and efficient banking
system that could become active in the North. Consequently, depending on the circumstances of a future Korean unification either a more gradual process is recommended or, if inner-Korean migration requires a more dynamic transition, considerable investment by foreign banks and assistance from international organisations is recommended.
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Productivity gap of East German industry: A summarizing evaluation
Joachim Ragnitz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
2001
Abstract
Ten years after German unification labor productivity in the New Laender reaches only 70 per cent of West German levels. Further, in the second half of the 1990ies, convergence did not continue. Because productivity can be regarded as a key for wages, for competitiveness of firms and for future transfer payments, the reasons for low productivity in East Germany are of major importance. In this article, it is argued that the existing productivity gap reflects mainly structural differences between East and West Germany, that is the high share of small firms and the predominance of sectors with low value added per worker. Additionally, difficulties on product markets leading to insufficient selling prices are responsible for the comparative low productivity of East German firms. Differences in capital intensity or in human capital, however, do explain only a small part of the productivity gap.
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Housing Vacancies in East German Cities: A Problem not only for Housing Policy
Peter Franz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2001
Abstract
In numerous East German cities extreme imbalances in the housing
market have developed with the consequence of extensive housing vacancies. Primarily inner city housing units constructed in the late 19th and early 20th century and housing units constructed within the period of the socialist regime are concerned. The causes for these imbalances can be found in decisions of socialist urban planning, in demographic
factors, in oversized federal promotion of new housing construction after the German unification, and in income increases of private households. The commission “Structural Change in the Housing Economy of the New Länder“, installed by the federal government, has examined this problem and submitted preliminary political recommendations on the federal level in order to reduce the housing market imbalances. The commission recommends federal subsidies for tearing off vacant housing units within a period of ten years. A measure like this raises the question how the risk can be handled that too many flats are torn down. In addition, the commission recommends to double the subsidies for households acquiring already existing flats for own use and to halve the subsidies for households investing in newly built owner-occupied housing in East Germany. These incentives to acquire existing housing units might prove too weak because of the strong preferences of East German households to live in single-family houses. Measures on the federal level can support but cannot replace necessary concrete planning and solution strategies in the vacancy-plagued cities “in situ“.
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Ten years German unification – Results and Perspectives - Conference issue -
IWH-Sonderhefte,
No. 2,
2001
Abstract
Zehn Jahre nach der deutschen Einheit besteht weitverbreitete Ernüchterung über den Aufbauprozess in den neuen Ländern. Im Vergleich zur Ausgangslage wurde zwar viel erreicht – so beim Aufbau eines wettbewerbsfähigen Unternehmenssektors, bei der Erneuerung der Infrastruktur, bei den materiellen und immateriellen Lebensverhältnissen der Bevölkerung. Was jedoch schmerzt und die Einstellung vieler Ostdeutscher zur Vereinigung negativ beeinflusst, ist die anhaltend hohe Arbeitslosigkeit. Hinzu kommt, dass nach anfänglich raschen Anpassungsfortschritten die Arbeitsproduktivität der ostdeutschen Wirtschaft bei etwa zwei Dritteln des westdeutschen Niveaus stagniert – bis zu einer vollständigen Angleichung an die westdeutschen Einkommensverhältnisse wird es offenbar noch lange dauern. Im Ergebnis herrscht somit vielfach die Auffassung vor, dass beim Aufbau Ost bestenfalls ein Zwischenstadium erreicht ist und noch ein langer Weg bevorsteht.
Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie, Berlin am 6. September 2000 eine wissenschaftliche Tagung veranstaltet, die die Analyse ausgewählter Aspekte des Transformationsprozesses in Ostdeutschland zum Gegenstand hatte. Deutsche und ausländische Wissenschaftler präsentierten neue Forschungsergebnisse zur wirtschaftlichen Lage in den neuen Ländern und stellten Vorschläge zur weiteren wirtschaftspolitischen Begleitung des Aufholprozesses zur Diskussion.
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Environmental protection in the new Länder – Results 10 years after the German Unification
Steffen Hentrich, Walter Komar, Martin Weisheimer
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 128,
2000
Abstract
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Regional analysis of East Germany: A comparison of the economic situation of states, districts, and municipalities
Franz Barjak, Peter Franz, Gerhard Heimpold, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2000
Abstract
A decade after the German unification we look at the extent of economic differentiation within East Germany. This is achieved by help of a set of selected statistical indicators for the years 1991 to 1998. Comparisons are drawn a) between the East German jurisdictions and b) between West and East German jurisdictions. On the federal state (Laender) level it can be shown that each state has developped its own specific economic profile. Brandenburg is characterized by a positive net migration (suburban function for Berlin), relatively low unemployment and high GDP values, but relatively low entrepreneurial activities. Saxony has achieved the lowest unemployment, a good endowment with human capital, modern industrial technology, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial activities. Special features of Thuringia consist of a relatively large number of patent applications and a stable industrial base. The economic state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is characterized by low industrial investment, negative net migration, and high unemployment. A special feature of this federal state is the intense investmenr in tourist services. Saxony-Anhalt registers the highest decrease in the numbers of industrial workers between 1991 and 1998 and the highest unemployment. On the other side it shows the highest amount of investment, especially in chemical industry and in mineral oil processing.
On the county level four clusters can be identified by means of a cluster analysis: A “cluster of counties with severe economic weaknesses” with a bias in the regions indutrialized in an early stage, a “cluster with a high human capital potential and suburbanization loss” consisting of 21 cities, a “cluster of counties with good economic results” predominantly surrounding the larger cities, and a “cluster of counties with SME growth potential” concentrating in Thuringia and Saxony.
The results at the city level show that the larger cities above 100.000 inhabitants, especially Dresden and Leipzig, do better than the smaller cities. Jena in Thuringia has specialized as a location for R&D, Zwickau in Saxony as a location for the automobile industry. Altogether the economic differences between the East German federal states, counties, and cities still are less pronounced than the degree of differentiation of their West German counterparts.
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Current trends – West Germany: Gross domestic product on higher level after German unification
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 13,
1996
Abstract
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German Unification and the ‘Market Adoption’ Hypothesis
Udo Ludwig, John B. Hall
Cambridge Journal of Economics,
1995
Abstract
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