The Long-Run Effects of Communism and Transition to a Market System on Self-Employment: The Case of Germany
研究了东德40年苏联式共产主义及随后向市场经济休克转型对自雇的长期影响，发现当前东德自雇率高于分裂前，差异主要源于统一时的冲击转型而非反创业政策。
We investigate how self-employment in East Germany was impacted by 40 years of Soviet-style communism and the subsequent shock transition to a market economic system. To this end, we compare self-employment in East and West Germany after reunification with self-employment before the separation of Germany after World War II. Our results show that the strict anti-entrepreneurial policies prevalent during the Soviet regime do not have a long-run negative effect on self-employment in East Germany. Quite to the contrary, self-employment in East Germany today is higher than before German separation. This finding cannot be explained by necessity self-employment. Our analysis suggests that current differences in self-employment between East and West Germany are pre-dominantly a result of the sudden shock transformation that occurred with reunification, rather than the outcome of four decades of anti-entrepreneurial policies and ideology.