German Economic and Monetary Union
Abstract
At midnight on October 2, 1990, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was reunited with the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) forming a single German state and ending over 40 years of political, economic and cultural separation. Political union came with relative ease, occurring less than one year after the coming down of the wall. Economic union, however, is proving to be much more difficult. The initial euphoria has been replaced by the painful realization that the process of economic integration is going to be very expensive and take a lot longer than originally anticipated. High unemployment, difficulties in privatizing the formerly state-owned enterprises, infrastructure deterioration, environmental pollution and massive immigration are problems associated with reunification which are straining Germany's social, political and economic systems. This paper discusses the impact that these problems and the enormous cost of unification are having on Germany, the European Community, eastern Europe's emerging market economies and the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA249763
Entities
People
- Edwin P. Goosen
Organizations
- United States Army War College