Getting it together
Article Abstract:
The complete integration of Germany will not happen in the near future due to a string of problems. As a result of integrating East Germany into the western framework, production and employment have markedly dropped, and the feelings of pride and confidence that accompanied the fall of the Berlin wall have disappeared. West Germans are lamenting the fact that the money needed to prop up the east German economy will come mostly from their pockets. At the same time, the West German economy is showing signs of trouble with growth expected to reach less than 1% only. However, the West is left with no other choice but to continue providing funds to the East. In 1992, funding is expected to reach 150 billion German marks, with the bulk of it coming out of borrowing. Nevertheless, the personal idealism and effort of Germans, and the systematic manner they pursue the goal of unification will eventually lead to the successful integration of the two Germanies.
Publication Name: International Management
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0020-7888
Year: 1992
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The prospect of armies of pensioners outnumbering dwindling ranks of workers is forcing the retirement age on to government agendas
Article Abstract:
Declining birth rates and the coming retirement of the 'baby boom' generation will increase the pension burden on Europe's workforce. As more people retire, the productive proportion of the population will decline relative to those they must support. European governments are thus placing more emphasis on occupational pensions that rely on future liability funds, instead of those on a pay-as-you-go basis. Another method is encouraging late retirement via reduction of age and sex discrimination. Despite their longer life spans, women actually retire earlier due to familial and other pressures, and thus have little opportunity to build up retirement funds. The elderly are also victims of on-the-job discrimination. The introduction of variable retirement ages may prove to be an effective way of conserving valuable albeit older workers and avoid future shortages in skilled labor and pension funds.
Publication Name: International Management
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0020-7888
Year: 1992
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Deutsch marks
Article Abstract:
The reunification of Germany has led many observers to speculate on the character of the German people as a means of forecasting the future of a united Germany. Observers commenting on German national character often fail to note the evolution in character that West German citizens have undergone since WWII. Observations on the national character of Germans are made irrelevant by the reunification of Germany. National character is not genetically based but based on the society and institutions of a country, which radically changed in both Germanies after WWII. The national character of East Germans is quite different than that of westerners, having grown up under different socio-economic and political systems since WWII.
Publication Name: International Management
Subject: Business, international
ISSN: 0020-7888
Year: 1991
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