Comparison Of Women’s Situation In The Labour Market In The Former GDR And Poland

• Authors: Dorota Witkowska

Title variants

Porównanie sytuacji kobiet na rynku pracy w dawnej NRD i Polsce

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Twenty-five years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of transition in the former socialist countries. The aim of this research is to find out how women in East Germany and Poland, which followed completely different transformation patterns, have been affected by the introduction of market reforms. As a result of the investigation we found that the situation of women in both countries has been changed after the collapse of the communist system in Europe. However, women in former German Democratic Republic, following a significant decrease in their participation in the labour market in the early transition period, went on to become even more active than their counterparts in the Western lands. At the same time, in Poland the economic activity rate of women is lower than was observed before the transformation.

PL

Minęło 25 lat od upadku muru berlińskiego i rozpoczęcia transformacji w krajach byłego bloku wschodniego. Celem analiz jest zbadanie jak zmieniła się sytuacja kobiet w byłej Niemieckiej Republice Demokratycznej i w Polsce, które to kraje zmieniały gospodarkę na rynkową według zupełnie innych schematów. W wyniku badań stwierdzono, że sytuacja kobiet w obu krajach uległa zmianie. Jednakże o ile kobiety we wschodnich landach niemieckich, po znacznym spadku ich udziału w rynku pracy na początku transformacji, wykazują większą aktywność zawodową niż kobiety w pozostałych landach, to kobiety w Polsce są w dalszym ciągu znacznie mniej aktywne niż obserwowano to w okresie funkcjonowania gospodarki centralnie planowanej.

Keywords

EN

labour market; economy in transition; gender inequalities

PL

rynek pracy; transformacja gospodarki; nierówności implikowane płcią; rynek pracy; transformacja gospodarki; nierówności implikowane płcią

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 129-148

Dates

published

2016-06-30

Contributors

author

Dorota Witkowska

• University of Lodz, Faculty of Management

References

• Adamchik V. A. Bedi A. S. (2003), Gender Pay Differentials During the Transition in Poland, ‘Economics of Transition’, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford – Malden, Vol. 11 (4).
• Bennhold K. (2010), 20 Years After Fall of Wall, Women of Former East Germany Thrive, ‘The New York Times - International Herald Tribune: Global Edition Europe The Female Factor’ New York, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/world/europe/06iht-letter.html?pagewanted=all.
• Bialecki I., Heyns, B. (1993), Educational Attainment, the Status of Women, and Private School Management in Poland, [in:] Moghadam V.M. (ed.) Democratic Reform and the Position of Women in Transitional Economies, Clareudon Press, Oxford.
• Boeri T., Terrel K. (2002), Institutional Determinants of Labour Reallocation in Transition, ‘Journal of Economic Perspectives’, American Economic Association, Pittsburgh, Vol. 16(1).
• Bonin H., Euwals R. (2002), Participation Behavior of East German Women after German Unification, ‘IZA Discussion Papers’, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, No. 413.
• Bonin H., Zimmermann K. F. (2000), The Post-Unification German Labour Market, ‘IZA Discussion Papers’, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, No.185.
• Botsch E., Maier F. (2009), Gender Mainstreaming in Employment Policies in Germany, Discussion paper, Harriet Taylor Mill-Institut für Ökonomie und Geschlechterforschung, Berlin, No. 08.
• Brainerd, E. (2000), Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, ‘Industrial and Labour Relations Review’, Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labour Relations, Ithaca, Vol. 54(1), http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696036.
• Cukrowska E. (2011), Investigating the motherhood penalty in a post-communist economy: Evidence from Poland, Central European University (CEU), Budapest.
• Germany replaces Japan as country with world’s lower birth rate (2015), ‘Independent’ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germanys-birth-rate-lowest-in-the-world-according-to-study-10286525.html
• Grajek M. (2001), Gender Pay Gap in Poland, Wissenschaftszentrum, Berlin, Discussion Paper FS IV 01-13.
• Hunt J. (2002), The Transition in East Germany: When is a Ten Point Fall in the Gender Pay Gap Bad News?, ‘Journal of Labour Economics’, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Vol. 20(1).
• Interview with Former German Finance Minister: “Germans will have to pay” (2011), ‘Spiegel Online International’, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/interview-with-former-german-finance-minister-germans-will-have-to-pay-a-785704-3.html. (Retrieved on July, 12, 2015).
• Jurajda S. (2005), Gender Segregation and Wage Gap: An East-West Comparison, ‘Journal of European Economic Association’, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford – Malden, Vol. 3.
• Keane M. P., Prasad E. S., (2006), Changes in the structure of earnings during the Polish transition, ‘Journal of Development Economics’, Elsevier, Vol. 80.
• Klasen S., (1994), Human Development and Women’s Lives in a Restructured Eastern Block: Lessons from the Developing World [in:] Schipke A., Taylor A. M., The Economics of Transition, Springer–Verlag, Berlin–Heidelberg.
• Krueger A. B., Pischke J. S. (1995), A Comparative Analysis of East and West German Labour Markets: Before and After Unification [in:] Freeman R. B., Katz L. F. (eds.), Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Maier F. (2007), The Persistence of the Gender Wage Gap in Germany, Discussion paper Harriet Taylor Mill-Institut für Ökonomie und Geschlechterforschung, Berlin, No. 01.
• Merkl Ch., Snower D. (2008), East German Unemployment: the Myth of the Irrelevant Labour Market, working paper, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel.
• Newell, A., Reilly B. (2001), The Gender Pay Gap in the Transition from Communism: Some Empirical Evidence, ‘Economic Systems’, Elsevier, Vol. 25.
• Newell A., Socha M. W. (2007), The Polish wage inequality explosion, ‘IZA Discussion Papers’, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA), Bonn, No. 2644
• Pailhé A. (2000), Gender Discrimination in Central Europe during the systemic transition, ‘Economics of Transition’, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford–Malden, Vol. 8.
• Popova D. (2002), The impact of the Gender Composition of Households on Inequality and Poverty: A Comparison across Russia and Eastern Europe, ‘Communist and Post-Communist Studies’, Elsevier, Vol. 35.
• Roland G. (2001), Ten Years After Transition and Economics, ‘IMF Staff Papers’, Vol. 48, Special Issue, International Monetary Fund, Washington D. C.
• Rueschemeyer M. (1993), Women in East Germany: From Socialism to Capitalist Welfare State, [in:] Moghadam V.M. (ed.) Democratic Reform and the Position of Women in Transitional Economies, Clareudon Press, Oxford.
• Rutkowski J. (2003), Rapid Labour Reallocation with a Stagnant Unemployment Pool: The Puzzle of the Labour Market in Lithuania, World Bank Group, Washington D. C., World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2946, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2003/03/07/000094946_03012304282754/additional/103503322_20041117164006.pdf.
• Shoemaker S. (1996), My second life – East German women in a changed world. http://www.coastlinevideo.com/Documentaries/MSL.html.
• Simón H., (2007), The Gender Pay Gap in Europe: An International Comparison with Matched Employer-Employee Data, Alicante, Spain: Universidad de Alicante, Alicante.
• Svejnar J. (2002), Transition Economies: Performance and Challenges, ‘Journal of Economic Perspectives’, American Economic Association, Pittsburgh, Vol. 16(1).
• Witkowska D. (2012), Wage Disparities in Poland: Econometric Models of Wages, ‘Metody Ilościowe w Badaniach Ekonomicznych’, Wydawnictwo Szkoły Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego (SGGW), Warszawa, Vol. 13(2).
• Witkowska D. (2013), Zmiana sytuacji kobiet w Polsce w okresie transformacji, [in:] Sawicka J. (ed.), Rynek pracy na obszarach wiejskich Mazowsza – perspektywa gender, Wydawnictwo Szkoły Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego (SGGW), Warszawa.
• Yearbook of Labour Statistics 2010 (2011), Central Statistical Office, Warszawa.
• http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do?dvsc=0
• http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
• http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do?dvsc=0
• http://www.digizeitschriften.de/dms/toc/?PPN=PPN514402644.
• http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/p_population_size_structure_31_12_2010.pdf
• http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/germany-population/

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/cer-2016-0017