After German reunification in 1990, the integration of the formerly centrally planned East German economy into the West German market economy led to a severe economic crisis in East Germany. Unemployment rates soared to 20 per cent and persistent economic uncertainty characterised East German society in the early 1990s. Economic crises are considered to be a serious burden on the health of the population, especially the young.
Did the post-reunification economic crisis in East Germany also leave scars on the physical and mental health of young people who experienced it as children or adolescents?
In their recent study, Lara Bister (University of Groningen); Jeroen Spijker (Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Fanny Janssen (University of Groningen and Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) and Tobias Vogt (University of Groningen) addressed this question by comparing the physical and mental health of young East German men and women born between 1973 and 1989 with that of West Germans. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and its links with German pension records, they were able to identify long-term health effects in young East Germans (17-30 years old) who experienced general economic uncertainty and parental unemployment during the economic crisis as children or adolescents.
While the authors found no differences in physical health, they did find differences in women's mental health. They found that East German women had worse mental health than West German women, especially if they had experienced parental unemployment during the economic crisis after reunification. No differences in men's mental health were found.
This study by Bister and colleagues is the first to address the long-term physical and mental health effects of the post-reunification economic crisis on young East Germans. According to the authors, the experience of the post-reunification economic crisis at a young age played a crucial role in the significantly poorer mental health of young East German women.
Existing research on economic crises at a young age suggests negative health effects immediately during childhood and adolescence, and later in life at older ages. The study by Bister and colleagues adds to this picture by showing that the negative health effects of economic crises at a young age are already visible in early adulthood. This finding is important for understanding the age at which health inequalities become established following economic stress in early life.
The findings of the study emphasise, first, the persisting health implications of the severe post-reunification economic crisis in East Germany. Second, the resulting vulnerability of the East German reunification cohorts (which should be prioritised in current German politics). And third, the general importance of health and welfare support for families and their children in times of economic uncertainty.