This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Solga, H. Articles by Diewald, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The East German Labour Market after German Unification: A Study of Structural Change and Occupational Matching

Max Planck Institute

Martin Diewald

Gerhard-Mercator-University

This article investigates the restructuring process of the East German employment system after German unification. It raises the question of whether and how job mobility has contributed to coping with rapid change in the occupational structure. In particular, it explores the importance of occupational credentials in these mobility processes in East Germany. The empirical analysis is based on retrospective life histories of East German men and women belonging to three birth cohorts (1939-41, 1951-3 and 1959-61). The main result is that vocational certificates have driven occupational matching in East Germany after 1989. Thus, change in the employment structure was achieved by `credentialised' exclusion and inclusion processes and, moreover, the efficacy of occupational credentials even increased after 1989. Beyond the East German case, the paper provides interesting insights in the social value of occupational credentials and the relationship between labour market regulation and social change.

Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 15, No. 1, 95-126 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/09500170122118797


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?