The rigorous anti-entrepreneurial policies that prevailed during communist regime did not leave any long-term negative effects on the level of self-employment in East Germany. On the contrary, self-employment in East Germany is higher today than in the West of the country. The analysis of the authors suggests that the current differences in self-employment between East and West Germany are primarily the result of the shock transformation that significantly overcompensated the negative effect of four decades of anti-entrepreneurial ideology and policies.
Policy Brief "Unternehmertum im Fokus" | 2022 Long-Term Effects of Socialism and Transformation on Self-Employment in East Germany
Fritsch, M.; Greve, M.; Wyrwich, M. (2022): Long-Term Effects of Socialism and Transformation on Self-Employment in East Germany, in: Förderkreis Gründungsforschung e.V. and IfM Bonn: Policy Brief 3/22, Bonn