East Germany's growth gap persists

by Sascha O. Becker Reposted by Kris Inwood, Scott Gehlbach, Bartosz Bartkowski

Scholar power: 109.8%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Sascha O. Becker	39%	48	81.1%
🎓 Kris Inwood	31%	18	13.2%
🎓 Scott Gehlbach	16%	28	8.5%
🎓 Bartosz Bartkowski	16%	20	7.2%
Total			109.8%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index + sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

62.0%

12.5 h

6

109.8%

Ranking score

0.436

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Sascha O. Becker

@essobecker.bsky.social

Annual reminder on German Unification Day that West and East differed already before 1945

Sascha O. Becker @essobecker.bsky.social · Feb 24

Occasional reminder of differences PRE German partition.

See (pdf) 👉 www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

@lukasmergele.bsky.social @woessmann.bsky.social

October 3, 2026 at 10:35 AM

by Yanis Varoufakis

62%

Scholar power: 62.4%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Yanis Varoufakis	49%	18	62.4%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

57.0%

27.2 h

175

62.4%

Ranking score

0.327

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

by Tarik Abou‐Chadi

12%

Scholar power: 12.9%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Tarik Abou‐Chadi	9%	23	12.9%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

55.0%

10.5 h

8

12.9%

Ranking score

0.036

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Tarik Abou-Chadi

@tabouchadi.bsky.social

If you want to understand something about why East Germany is and remains different beyond the oversimplified explanations you often find, you should check out this thread by Jacob

Jacob Edenhofer @jacobedenhofer.bsky.social · Oct 3

German Reunification Day invites both gratitude and reflection.
Gratitude, because the peaceful revolution of 1989 was nothing short of a miracle — a bloodless dismantling of a repressive regime.
Reflection, because the wounds of the transition still mark the country —and because

October 3, 2026 at 12:35 PM

by Sascha O. Becker

81%

Scholar power: 81.1%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Sascha O. Becker	39%	48	81.1%

Formula for scholar power: 3 × author's field match × √author's h-index

Ranking score inputs

Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

53.0%

12.0 h

3

81.1%

Ranking score

0.101

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

Sascha O. Becker

@essobecker.bsky.social

@woessmann.bsky.social @lukasmergele.bsky.social

Free PDF
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

The Separation and Reunification of Germany: Rethinking a Natural Experiment Interpretation of the Enduring Effects of Communism

(Spring 2020) - German separation in 1949 into a communist East and a capitalist West and their reunification in 1990 are commonly described as a natural experiment to study the enduring effects of co...

www.aeaweb.org

October 3, 2026 at 11:03 AM

Reposted by James Cameron

5%

Scholar power: 5.2%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 James Cameron	14%	14	5.2%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

52.0%

15.0 h

68

5.2%

Ranking score

0.02

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

German Embassy London

@uk.diplo.de

"This morning, Germany is one nation again."

This is how BBC Breakfast News reported on German reunification on 3 October 1990.

October 3, 2026 at 8:02 AM

Reposted by Steffen Mau

8%

Scholar power: 8.3%

Story's scientific field profile

Economics 50%, Sociology 25%, Political science 15%, Geography 10%

Name	Field match	H-index	Scholar power
🎓 Steffen Mau	14%	35	8.3%

Formula for scholar power: sum of each reposter's field match × √reposter's h-index

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Relevance

Recency

Reposts

Scholar power

48.0%

35.2 h

3

8.3%

Ranking score

0.004

Formula for ranking score (post): scholar_power × max((total_reposts)^(1/3), 1) × (1 / max(hours_since_posted, 1)) × (raw_relevance)^3

The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science

@mpips.bsky.social

Polarization isn't just mirrored by politics, it's actively produced. @steffenmau.bsky.social on the AfD's strength in the East, whether it faces a ceiling in the West, and why Germany's political situation resists simple explanations.