Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/267263 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10030
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 brought the end of socialism, yet pro-socialist sentiment regained momentum surprisingly quickly across Eastern Europe. Why did voters move back to an ideology that was associated with unfree elections and lackluster economic performance? This paper points to the rushed privatization of East European economies as one plausible driver of the revival of socialist voting. Using micro-level data from East Germany, we show that firm privatizations led to a marked resurgence of the former Socialist Unity Party. We argue that this effect is likely due to perceived inequity: Socialist voting thrived whenever firms were sold to Western elites, which East Germans took as a sign that capitalism was not meritocratic.
Subjects: 
privatization
socialist backlash
structural change
democratization
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.