1. Wolfgang Seibel, “Necessary Illusions: The Transformation of Governance Structures in the New Germany,”The Tocqueville Review 13, no. 1 (1992): 190.

2. For more on the legacies of the GDR regime, see Reinhard Bendix, “Staat, Legitimierung und `Zivilgesellschaaft,' ”Berliner Journal für Soziologie, no. 1 (1991): 3-11; Claus Offe, “German Reunification as a `Natural Experiment,' ”German Politics 1, no. 1 (April 1992): 1-12; and Seibel, “Necessary Illusions.”

3. See Peter J. Katzenstein, Policy and Politics in West Germany: The Growth of a Semisovereign State (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987).

4. David Soskice, “Reconciling Markets and Institutions: The German Apprenticeship System,” in Lisa Lynch, ed., Training and the Private Sector: International Comparisons (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994): 25-60; and Wolfgang Streeck, Josef Hilbert, Karl-Heinz van Kevelaer, Friederike Maier, and Hajo Weber, The Role of the Social Partners in Vocational Training and Further Training in the Federal Republic (Berlin: CEDEFOP, 1987).

5. See, for example, Stephen Hamilton, Apprenticeship for Adulthood (New York: Basic Books, 1990); Jooyeon Jeong, “The Failure of Recent State Vocational Training Policies in Korea from a Comparative Perspective,”British Journal of Industrial Relations 33, no. 2 (June 1995): 237-52; and Paul Osterman, Employment Futures (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988).

6. This section draws heavily on Streeck et al., The Role of the Social Partners; Soskice, “Reconciling Markets and Institutions”; Osterman, Employment Futures; as well as Bernard Casey, “Recent Developments in the German Apprenticeship System,”British Journal of Industrial Relations 29, no. 2 (June 1991):205-22; Lisa Lynch, “A National Training Agenda: Lessons from Abroad,” report to the Economic Policy Institute, Washington, DC, July 1992; Gerhard Bosch, “Vocational Training and Change in Patterns of Labour Relations in Germany,” unpublished manuscript, Institut Arbeit und Technik, Gelsenkirchen, 1992; Dietmar Harhoff and Thomas J. Kane, “Financing Apprenticeship Training: Evidence from Germany,” unpublished manuscript, Cambridge, MA, October 1993; and Kirsten Wever, Peter Berg, and Thomas Kochan, “The Role of Labour Market Institutions in Employee Training: Comparing the United States and Germany,” working paper no. 114, Economic Policy Institute, Washington, DC, December 1994.

7. Adult continuing education (Fortbildung und Umschulung) is not considered here.

8. Osterman, Employment Futures; Soskice, “Reconciling Markets and Institutions”; Streeck et al., The Role of the Social Partners.

9. The dramatic decline in the number of industrial apprenticeships can perhaps best be appreciated through the following example. In 1987,51,637 new training contracts were signed for metalworking occupations. In 1993, only 27,490 new contracts were signed in the same occupations. Declines in other industrial sectors (e.g., electronics) appear even more severe. For more on this, see Martin Baethge, Volker Baethge-Kinsky, and Robert Hendrich, “Die Zukunft des Facharbeiters- im Kontext neuer betrieblicher Produktionsund Ausbildungskonzepte, veränderter beruflicher Ansprueche und neugeordneter Ausbildungsberufe,” unpublished manuscript, Göttingen, 15 June 1995.

10. For more on this, see Casey, “Recent Developments in the German Apprenticeship System”; and Osterman, Employment Futures.

11. See Martin Baethge, “Technology, Public Policy, and Employment Relations in Germany” (paper presented at the International Industrial Relations Association World Congress, Washington, DC, 31 May 1995); and Charles F. Sabel and Gary Herrigel, “A Sudden Crisis in Craft Production in Germany,” unpublished manuscript, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 1994.

12. Casey, “Recent Developments in the German Apprenticeship System.”

13. See Hartmut Zimmermann, Horst Ulrich, and Michael Fehlauer, DDR Handbuch, 3rd edition (Cologne: Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, 1985), 333.

14. See Ulrich Degen, Günther Walden, and Klauss Becker, Berufsbildung in den neuen Bundesländern (Berlin: BiBB, 1995). In addition to the two forms of part-time vocational schools, full-time Fachschulen were also an important part of the GDR system. Some pupils went to Fachschulen after their apprenticeship for more specialized or advanced certificates while others went directly to the Fachschulen from the Politechnische Oberschulen to learn a school-based vocation.

15. Zimmermann et al., DDR Handbuch, 330.

16. Degen, Walden, and Becker, Berufsbilding in den neuen Bundesländern, 16.

17. Ibid., 36.

18. This number includes all the subspecialties in the twenty-eight broad occupational groups. Zimmerman et al., DDR Handbuch, 330.

19. Dieter Burkhardt, “Aspekte zur Finanzierung und Förderung der Berufsausbildung in den neuen Bundesländern,”Gewerkschaftliche Bildungspolitik 42 (January 1990): 9.

20. Oskar Anweiler, ed., Vergleich von Bildung und Erziehung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (Bonn: BiBB, 1990).

21. Hans-Jürgen Cott, “Berfusbildung im Umbruch,”Wirtschaft und Berufserziehung 43 (January 1991): 5.

22. The Implementation Articles of the Unity Treaty were not actually signed until 18 September; the Four Power Treaty on Germany was signed on 12 September 1990 and also took effect on 3 October.

23. Labor market statistics are from the Federal Labor Office in Nürnberg, IAB Werkstattbericht, no. 13 (15 March 1995): 40-42.

24. Commission of the European Communities, Employment Observatory, no. 10 (February 1994): 3.

25. For more on this see, Bernard Boll, “Interest Organization and Intermediation in the New Ländern,”German Politics 3, no. 1 (April 1994): 114-28; Jacoby, The Politics of Institutional Transfer, chap. 5; Phyllis Dininio, “Transferring the German Model to Eastern Germany: Old Institutions Faltering in a New Economic Environment” (paper presented at the Northeastern Political Science Association annual meeting, 10-12 November 1994); Michael Fichter, “Remolding Union Structures: Does Eastern Germany Count?” (paper presented at the Ninth International Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, IL, 31 March-2 April 1994); Gerhard Lehmbruch, “Dilemmata verbandlicher Einflusslogik im Prozess der deutschen Vereinigung,” in Staat und Verbände, special issue of Politische Vierteljahreschrift 25 (1994): 370-92; and Stephen J. Silvia, “German Unification and Emerging Divisions within German Employers' Associations: Cause or Catalyst?”Comparative Politics (forthcoming).

26. Interview with Dr. Günther Albrecht; see also Carsten Johnson, “Die Rolle intermediärer Organisationen beim Wandel des Berufsbildungssystems,” in Helmut Wiesenthal, ed., Einheit als Interessenpolitik: Studien zur sektoralen Transformation Ostdeutschlands (Frankfurt: Campus-Verlag, 1995), 133.

27. Gesetz über Berufsschulen. For details see the report of the Bund-Länder-Kommission für Bildungsplanung, “Forschungsförderung and Entwicklung der Berufsausbildung in den neuen Ländern,” draft report, February 1992, 8.

28. For sake of simplicity, the Handwerkskammern will be translated as “craft chambers” and the IHK as “chambers of industry and commerce.”

29. Johnson, “Die Rolle,” 137-39.

30. See IG Metall, “Informationen zum jetzt geltenden Recht der beruflichen Bildung in den neuen Bundesländern” (IG Metall, Frankfurt, January 1991); this document lists seven minor rule changes designed for transitional purposes.

31. With a contract signed before 13 August 1990.

32. Several interview partners suggested that youth overwhelmingly chose to switch to the West German curriculum offered for their occupation.

33. Combined spending from ministries of education and economics. In some cases, these facilities could also be used for further training of adults. See Degen, Walden, and Becker, Berufsbildung in den neuen Bundesländern, 136.

34. Interview with Dr. Hans-Peter Schmidt, Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Leipzig.

35. Karen Schober, “Der schwierige Weg zum dualen System,”Materialien aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung 3 (1994): 5.

36. Johnson, “Die Rolle.” A key question is, will the current construction slump reverse these trends toward greater craft training?

37. Ibid., 142.

38. Interestingly, it appears as if Eastern Germany now suffers from particularly acute versions of ills that had increasingly plagued the West German training system. Firms increasingly view training as a cost to be controlled while youth increasingly see higher education as necessary insurance against unpredictable labor markets. The fundamental dilemma is that policies designed to make training more attractive for firms almost invariably make vocational training less attractive for Eastern German youth. To the extent that the federal and state governments try to transcend this dilemma with financial incentives, they run the risk of being forced to permanently assume financial responsibility for a sizable portion of vocational training.

39. Interviews; statements of IHK officials at the Second South Thuringen Workshop on Vocational Training, December 1994. The 5-10 percent figure applies to all firms; the proportion of training firms to those firms large enough to be listed in the Handelsregister appears to be around 20 percent.

40. Ulrich Degen and Günther Walden, “Situation, Organisation und Gestaltung der betrieblichen Berufsausbildung in den neuen Bundeländern,”Informationen für die Beratungs- und Vermittlungsdienst des IAB 23 (8 June 1994): 2063-64.

41. Ulrich Degen, “Was könnte die nicht-ausbildenden Betriebe in den neuen Ländern zur Ausbildung motivieren?”BWP Nachrichten 22, no. 4 (1993): 30-31.

42. Frankfurter Rundschau, 18 February 1995, reported 60 percent. In a Landtag speech in Potsdam on 23 March 1995, Brandenburg's Minister of Labor, Regina Hildebrandt, claimed the figure was about 80 percent. In 1994-95, Brandenburg spent about 84 million DM to promote vocational training.

43. Substantial, though hardly complete. Degen and Walden's data show that about 70 percent of firms presently training say they would continue to train even without financial support. Thirty percent say they would cease training. Among firms that appear “dependent” upon state subsidies for their willingness to train, small firms with under twenty employees and firms belonging to the crafts chambers (as opposed to industry and commerce or the professions) are strongly overrepresented; see Degen and Walden, “Situation, Organisation und Gestaltung,” 2072-73.

44. Frankfurter Rundschau, 9 January 1995.

45. See Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, “Secondary Associations and Democratic Governance,”Politics & Society 20, no. 4 (December 1992): 393-472; James Coleman, “Social Capital Is the Creation of Human Capital,”American Journal of Sociology 94 (1988 suppl.): s95-s120; Richard M. Locke, Remaking the Italian Economy (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995); and Robert Putnam, Making Democracy Work (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993).

46. See Bendix, “Staat, Legitimierung, und `Zivilgesellschaaft' ”; and Seibel, “Necessary Illusions.” For a somewhat dissenting view that claims that not all forms of civil society were destroyed in the GDR but rather that in certain localities, various groups managed to survive, perhaps only in latent or subterranean forms, and are now reemerging and shaping the current transformation process in interesting ways, see Richard Locke, “The Rebirth of Civil Society? Historical Legacies and Local Politics in Eastern Germany,” manuscript in progress, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

47. For more on Germany's corporatist style of decision-/policy-making process, see Katzenstein, Policy and Politics in West Germany, and various chapters in Peter J. Katzenstein, ed., Industry and Politics in West Germany (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989). For more on the problems these associations are facing in Eastern Germany, see Fichter, “Remolding Union Structures,” and Silvia, “German Unification and Emerging Divisions within German Employers' Associations.”

48. Hartmut Usbeck, “Leipzing und seine Region,” in Deutsches Institut für Urbanistic, ed., Urbanitat in Deutschland (Stuttgart: Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, 1991), 74.

49. Statistiches Jahrbuch der deutschen Gemeinden (Cologne: Deutscher Städtetag, 1993), 107.

50. Ibid., 153.

51. Petra Karrasch, “Gewerkschaftliche und gewerkschaftsnahe Politikformen in und mit der Kommune: Leipziger Erfahrungen,” in Susanne Benzler, Udo Bullmann, and Dieter Eiβel, eds., Deutschland-Ost vor Ort (Opladen: Leske and Budrich, 1995), 103.

52. IAB Werkstattbericht, no. 13 (15 March 1995): 11. This official figure includes unemployment plus a range of so-called second labor market programs and also early retirement.

53. Karen Schober, “Aufgeschoben ist nicht aufgehoben,”IAB Kurzbericht, no. 1 (1 February 1993): 1-4.

54. Data provided by the Landesarbeitsamt Sachsen. We recognize that these data, absolute numbers and changes in supply, are very rough measures, especially given that the two cities are not the same size, nor do they have identical economic structures. But we still think it is interesting that the percentage increase of training slots in Leipzig (84 percent) was greater than not only Chemnitz (12 percent) but also of the average for the state of Sachsen (56 percent) or for all the new federal states as well (45 percent). Clearly, something special is happening in Leipzig. The best way to compare across these two cities would have been by comparing rates (number of slots per youth) in the two cities. But given that the number of youth actively searching for slots (the appropriate denominator) is itself a function of the number of training slots available (many youth stay in school if they think there are not enough training slots available in the local labor markets), this number too is very difficult to obtain. Chemnitz actually has had slightly more 15- to 20-year-olds than Leipzig throughout the period studied. Thus, its modest to low performance in supplying apprenticeships cannot be explained through lack of demand. For more on these problems, see Schober, “Aufgeschoben”; and also Arbeitsamt Chemnitz, “Kritische Entwicklung auf dem Ausbildungsmarkt” (Arbeitsamt Chemnitz, 6 April 1995), 3.

55. Ausbildungsstellenmarkt 1994 (Nuremberg: Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, 1995).

56. BiBB Erheburg (Bonn: BiBB, 1994), Table 1/1.

57. BiBB, Berufsbildungsbericht (Bad Honnef: Bock, 1993), 46.

58. IAB Werkstattbericht, no. 13 (15 March 1995): 11.

59. Vereinsregister, Leipzig, February 1995. The Landkreise include areas larger than the labor office districts, but as it turns out, about 90 percent of registered groups are located in the cities.

60. Locke, Remaking the Italian Economy.

61. Interview with Mr. Kurt Dornberger, Vocational Training Advisor, Federal Labor Office, Leipzig.

62. The efforts by local actors in Leipzig to build new institutions resemble in interesting ways the mutual learning and monitoring processes described in Charles F. Sabel, “Learning by Monitoring: The Institutions of Economic Development,” in Neil J. Smelser and Richard Swedberg, eds., The Handbook of Economic Sociology (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994): 137-65.

63. For more on this experience, see Katharina Bluhm, “Regionale Unterstützungsnetzwerke in der ostdeutschen Industrie: Der Interessenverband Chemnitzer Maschinenbau,” in Helmut Wiesenthal, ed., Einheit als Interessenpolitik: Studien zur sektoralen Transformation Ostdeutschlands (Frankfurt: Campus-Verlag, 1995).

64. See Klaus Schmidt and Ulrich Günther, “Aufbau und Arbeitsweise eines regionalen Ausbildungsleiter-Arbeitskreises: Schaffung wirkungsvoller regionaler Strukturen und Kooperationen,”Ausbildungs-Entwicklung 5 (1993): 17-27.

65. Interview with Ms. Zimmermann, DGB, Saxony.

66. These different patterns of associationalism and intergroup relations appear to be the result of divergent historical legacies in which local groups in Leipzig were able to maintain and develop their organizational capacities even during the previous regime. These organizational capacities have resurfaced in recent years and have influenced the current transformation process in interesting and unexpected ways. For more on this, see Locke, “The Rebirth of Civil Society?”

67. See Wade Jacoby, “The Politics of Institutional Transfer: Two Postwar Reconstructions in Germany, 1945-1995” (Ph.D. diss., Department of Political Science, MIT, 1996), for more on the relationship between groups in civil society and the process of institutional transfer.

68. For more on this, see Richard M. Locke and Kathleen Thelen, “Apples and Oranges Revisited: Contextualized Comparisons and the Study of Comparative Labor Politics,”Politics & Society 23, no. 3 (September 1995): 337-67.

The Dilemmas of Diffusion: Social Embeddedness and the Problems of Institutional Change in Eastern Germany

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