Berufserfolg im Transformationsprozeß:eine theoretisch empirische Studie über die Gewinner und Verlierer der Wende in Ostdeutschland

This study focuses on the explanation of changes in occupational success in East Germany since the political turnover in 1989. The theoretical considerations, which are used in this study, are mainly based on results of labor market research in western economies (i.e., theories on labor market segmentation as well as theories on human and social capital). The present study, however, is different in important respects. The explanation of changing occupational success focuses not on changing or different resources individuals command (or invest in) under comparatively stable labor market conditions, but it focuses on how different resources and other actor restrictions contribute to occupational success when the labor market conditions change drastically. For that reason special attention is paid to changes within different labor market segments. Career data of labor market participants have been collected in a joint Dutch-German data collection. Two randomly selected samples in Leipzig and Dresden were repeatedly interviewed between 1992 and 1994 resulting in about 850 interviews with 490 persons. These persons were between 30 and 55 years of age and they were employed before the turnover in 1989. The questionnaires provided data on the former personal networks as well as the living and working conditions of the respondents. To get an understanding of the changes of the East German labor market, document studies and expert interviews have been conducted. Survey data were analyzed to chart the changes for different labor market segments and different regions. The results of this study clearly reflect the impact of labor market changes on occupational success. In general, positive effects of human capital and social resources could be shown. But certain factors like work experience or comparatively large networks within enterprises did not have the expected effects. This reflects particularities of transitional societies where specific investments in human or social resources might be devaluated