East Germany from 1980 until the end - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The policies made to overcome structural problems led to the collapse of the economy. The policies aimed at centralizing the economy did not have a positive impact. This made the problems harder to solve, making it necessary for West Germany to bail out the economy. Market orientation problems were solved but the original structural problems were not. This has made it difficult for East Germany to match output levels in West Germany. The stagnation in East Germany began when the monetary union overvalued the East German mark, leading to the decrease of the price of capital stock and the increase in labor cost per unit. Competition also faced a serious downfall. Funds that were given to alleviate private households and to heighten the investment sector were channeled to many other sectors, hence economic expansion became difficult. The public was given ill advice on areas of investment, and, therefore, production levels were reduced. Unemployment increased, leading to high public budgets. The Federal Government spent on arrears to unify finance, thus increasing inflation tendencies. The Bundesbank tried to reduce inflation by raising interest rates. There was a negative impact on international competition, which slowed down the process of adaptation. Transparency in the East German was lost due to linguistic deceit (Markovits 189). Regulations that were set to cover up legal realities by the use of words became a recognized practice. East Germany has not yet found a solution to the problems brought by the communist system. Many people who lived around the Berlin area were affected by the division of the economy. Most of them worked in the West but resided in the East. Social control became low among these people, leading to the increase in the nonstandard behaviors. Antisocial behaviors caused violence even on football grounds (Dennis and LaPorte 137). Mortality rates were increasing at a steady pace, leading to an increase in life expectancy (Kronenberg 14). In the past, many people died in road accidents due to the social changes. Restrictions concerning personal freedoms were made to solve the problem. Local regulations were the basis of the foundation of civil legislation. The regulations in the set code books only applied to the region which did not have local regulations. East Germany also had policies that tried to break the link between marriage and childbirth. Single mothers were paid when they were on a one year leave, but this only applied to the first child. The leave scheme only applied to the single mothers. There was a rise in nonmarital births, because the policy encouraged many to push their marriage programs forward. Many women opted to bear their first children out of wedlock to enjoy the leave scheme. It was in 1986 that the scheme also applied to mothers who bore their first children after marriage. In the Eastern region, rates of nonmarital fertility were higher than in the Western region (Knapp, Madden, and Fowler-Kerry 210). The average age of women by the time they gave birth was lower in East Germany. The region did not have strict restrictions concerning marriage. Regulations that were made were inspired by the needs of children. A man who made a woman pregnant had the responsibility of giving the woman compensation and taking care the child. The constitution of the region also stated that it was not wrong to be born by a nonmarried couple. The Church in Europe tried to inform ...Download file to see next pagesRead More