全球智库信息集成服务系统(G2TT): DP14470 The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism

G2TT

来源类型	Discussion paper
规范类型	论文
来源ID	DP14470
	DP14470 The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism
	Sascha O. Becker; Lukas Mergele; Ludger Woessmann
发表日期	2020-03-04
出版年	2020
语种	英语
摘要	German separation in 1949 into a communist East and a capitalist West and their reunification in 1990 are commonly described as a natural experiment to study the enduring effects of communism. We show in three steps that the populations in East and West Germany were far from being randomly selected treatment and control groups. First, the later border is already visible in many socio-economic characteristics in pre-World War II data. Second, World War II and the subsequent occupying forces affected East and West differently. Third, a selective fifth of the population fled from East to West Germany before the building of the Wall in 1961. In light of our findings, we propose a more cautious interpretation of the extensive literature on the enduring effects of communist systems on economic outcomes, political preferences, cultural traits, and gender roles.
主题	Economic History ; Labour Economics ; Macroeconomics and Growth
关键词	Political systems Communism Preferences Culture Germany
URL	https://cepr.org/publications/dp14470
来源智库	Centre for Economic Policy Research (United Kingdom)
资源类型	智库出版物
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/543369
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Sascha O. Becker,Lukas Mergele,Ludger Woessmann. DP14470 The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism. 2020.