Obstacles to Modernization in the Economy and Science of the GDR (Mod-Block-DDR)

Emergence and Consequences - an inner-German comparison and a comparison to neighbouring countries in Central Eastern Europe

In the year 2017, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) published the call for project proposals in the field of “GDR Research” in order to support social scientific research about the “heritage of socialism” in the German university landscape and to strengthen the research structure in this field of expertise on a competitive basis.

The research consortium “Hurdles to modernisation in the economy and science in the GDR” (Mod-Block-DDR) was selected for funding as one out of 14 projects in total. The project will run empirical and comparative analyses focusing on the question in how far the hurdles to modernisation in the GDR impact the economic development and structures of East Germany until today. Four universities in Germany together with their international cooperation partners participate in the research consortium. Jutta Günther from the University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics, is head of the interdisciplinary research team. Young researchers are actively participating in the research and will be promoted through a PhD or postdoc career. Further, the results of the research will be disseminated broadly in the scientific community, policy, economy and general public. Especially the transfer of new knowledge about the GDR into society will be paid special attention.

The consortium started its work on December 01, 2018 and will be supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in a first stage until the year 2022. After positive evaluation, the second funding period of Mod-Block-DDR started on October 1, 2023 for two years.

In the context of the research project and in order to strengthen sustainable research structures, the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics of the University of Bremen filled a professorship position in economics with the specialisation “Institutional Change”. This newly established professorship is an additional action, financed by the University of Bremen and will work in close cooperation with the research consortium on complementary topics. It will particularly engage in research about institutional factors, which impact the economic catching-up process in transition economies until today.

Press release of the BMBF

Press release of the University of Bremen

03.05.2021

“Legacies of Communist Modernization: Evidence from a Natural Experiment”

No doubt, state socialism has had a strong influence on the political and economic development in the respective countries up to the present day. However, the modes of impact are disputed in the academic debate. On 11 May, Alexander Libman (FU Berlin) will present newly gained insights into the…

28.04.2021

UMPOBERE meets Mod-Block-DDR

On April 27, 2021, members of Mod-Block-DDR and the project „Umweltpolitik, Braunkohle und Rekultivierung im deutsch-deutschen Vergleich“ (UMPOBERE) met each other. The initiative of UMPOBERE director Helmut Maier was prompted by the thematic and methodological intersections between the two GDR…

30.03.2021

Does atomic energy have a future in Europe?

On March 11th, 2021, Heinrich Böll Foundation Bremen together with the Young DGO Regional Group Bremen (which is co-run by Mod-Block-DDR project members Dr. Mariia Shkolnykova, Mareike zum Felde and Olga Masyutina) organized an online event about the future of civilian use of atomic energy in…

21.12.2020

MDR-Podcast on the German Economic and Monetary Union in 1990

Mod-Block-DDR organised a panel discussion on economic and monetary union at the occasion of the 30-year anniversary of German unity. Participants and experts in economic transformation discussed successes achieved, mistakes made and useful lessons learned. The moderator Ine Dippmann (MDR) has now…

23.11.2020

Reading and contemporary witness talk on "Madgermanes

It is a rather unknown chapter in the history of the GDR: More than 23,000 contract workers from Mozambique worked in agriculture, industry and handicrafts in the GDR for several years from 1979 onward on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the two socialist countries. However, their…

10.11.2020

Lecture by Jutta Günther in the House of Science

On November 7, 2020, Jutta Günther gave a lecture at the Haus der Wissenschaft in Bremen to present research results from the joint project Mod-Block-GDR to interested citizens.

Due to the pandemic situation, the lecture was recorded and is available to all interested parties: https://www.hausderwi…

09.11.2020

New publication on the entrepreneurial habitus of East Germans for the Deutschland Archiv

Jarina Kühn, Anna Steinkamp and Anna Schwarz working in the Mod-Block-DDR Research Association have written a new contribution on the entrepreneurial habitus of East Germans before and after 1990. They consider the controversial question in the literature as to the extent to which entrepreneurial…

02.11.2020

Public discussion "Poland - A state under the rule of law in danger?“

The Civic Education Forum Lower Saxony of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation organized a discussion on current political developments in Poland in the Zollhaus of Leer on October 7th, 2020 with the participation of Mareike zum Felde.

PD Dr. Kamil Marcinkiewicz from the University of Hamburg introduced…

19.10.2020

Research Report: Universals of Innovation - Invention and Technical Progress in the GDR and its role after 1990

In the research project "Modernization blockades in economy and science of the GDR"(Mod-Block GDR) Jutta Günther, Ann Hipp and Udo Ludwig analyzed the patent data of the GDR in comparison to the Federal Republic of Germany and present some surprising findings: Since the 1960s, the GDR, like the FRG,…

24.09.2020

Series of Events: The long Way from East to West? 30 Years of German Unity

In cooperation with the Research Centre for Eastern European Studies (FSO), the Bremen team of Mod-Block-DDR is organising the series of events "The long way from East to West? 30 Years of German Unity".

A rich mixture awaits you with discussion events, readings, lectures as well as film and…

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