The anti-entrepreneurial policies that predominated in the GDR era have not left any long-term negative effects on the level of entrepreneurial self-employment in East Germany. Compared to West Germany, self-employment in the East is even higher today than it was before the division of Germany.
In their policy brief "Long-term effects of socialism and transformation on self-employment in East Germany", Prof. Michael Fritsch, Dr Maria Greve (both University of Jena) and Assoc.-Prof. Michael Wyrwich (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen/Netherlands) show the development of entrepreneurial self-employment in East Germany since 1989. They also look at the question why some East German companies are less economically successful than West German companies.
