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Article: The economic wall. (economic comparisons between West and East Germany) (column)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- December 22, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTERNATIONAL economic comparisons are always tricky, especially when planned economies are compared with capitalist ones.
The per-capita GNP figure, for example, shows only a 14.3 per cent advantage for West Germany. The actual gap in living standards is many times larger, since East German central planners channel the bulk of GNP into heavy industry, chemicals, and other exports, while giving short shrift to consumer products.
The East German economy is now believed to be in far worse shape than portrayed above. The recently departed finance minister, for example, disclosed a hitherto unacknowledged budget deficit of about $70 billion-roughly ...