Explaining Eastern Germany's Wage Gap: The Impact of Structural Change

Abstract

Since Eastern Germany's conversion to a market economy wages have remained considerably below the West German wage level. This article looks at the role of establishment-specific factors—such as sectoral affiliation and size of the labour force—in this process. A non-parametric decomposition that has played a prominent role in the gender wage gap literature is applied to breakdown the East–West wage gap into its constituent components. Using establishment data from German employment statistics, the article demonstrates that the catching-up process of Eastern Germany's wage level is hindered by the shift in its economic structure towards lower-paying types of companies, which has caused the lagging behind in the adjustment of wages.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

BERND GÖRZIG

We acknowledge helpful comments from Holger Görg and from participants at the 2004 meeting of the German Statistical Association at which an earlier German-language version of this article was presented that will be appearing in the Association's publication.

MARTIN GORNIG

We acknowledge helpful comments from Holger Görg and from participants at the 2004 meeting of the German Statistical Association at which an earlier German-language version of this article was presented that will be appearing in the Association's publication.

AXEL WERWATZ

We acknowledge helpful comments from Holger Görg and from participants at the 2004 meeting of the German Statistical Association at which an earlier German-language version of this article was presented that will be appearing in the Association's publication.