Did the pattern of poverty in West Germany change because of the reunification? : A cross-sectional study of poverty in West Germany

Sammanfattning: The reunification of West Germany and East Germany occurred in 1990 and had a great impact on the country. This essay investigates the impact that reunification had on the poverty structure of West Germany on the long-run. The results indicate that reunification had a negative impact on poverty since it increased the poverty rate by 4.88 percentage point in 2000 and by 6.16 percentage point in 2005. The structure of the poor population slightly changed the year following the reunification. Five years later, the structure of the poor population was similar to what it was before the reunification. However, during this period, the income transfer became more efficient since it decreased poverty by 6 percentage point to 16 percentage point more after reunification than it used to do before.