German Unification: Economic Issues: German Unification No 75) (Occasional Paper (Intl Monetary Fund))

This paper analyzes economic issues associated with German unification. The paper highlights that in the course of the process of German unification, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) ceased to exist as a separate state, the basic institutions of the east German economy were essentially demolished and replaced, and the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the GDR were forced to make myriad unprecedented decisions on the structure of the economy that would influence economic policies for a long time and give rise to many new and difficult challenges.