People's expectations after the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago and of reunification in 1990 were huge. The government promised to create "flourishing landscapes" within a few years. The euphoria of reunification came not only through the desire to finally become one country and one nation...

The economic gap between eastern and western Germany is still sizeable, even 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In terms of GDP per inhabitant and productivity, eastern Germany has attained nearly three-quarters of western German levels, respectively. Since some years, the catch-up...

An increasing share of the working-age population is active in the German labor market. In particular, the number of women participating in the labor force has grown. The more highly qualified they are, the greater their participation in the labor market - and the level of qualification among...

The German economy continues to recover, and will grow by 2.2 percent in 2015 and by 1.9 percent in 2016. The unemployment rate will further decline, to 6.4 percent this year and 6.1percent in 2016. Inflation, which averages 0.5 percent this year, will be substantially dampened by the slump in...

Twenty-five years ago, East Germany adopted the deutschmark as its currency. In terms of East German economic development, monetary union proved to be a disaster. With virtually no warning, East Germany's few productive factories and businesses were exposed to free market competition; industrial...

The German economy is continuing on an upward trend. Due to surprisingly weak production at the start of this year, GDP is likely to increase by 1.8 percent and is therefore growing somewhat slower this year than previously predicted. Growth of 1.9 percent is still expected for the coming year....