Reflection on Ostalgie and DDR Talk

Reflecting on Professor Wong’s talk with Ina Gamila, I found her personal account of growing up in East Germany (DDR) fascinating compared to Western Germany. In particular, I really thought deeply about Professor Wong’s question on how she viewed the West in relation to her own living circumstances. It was quite eye opening to learn about her childhood experiences without much technology and therefore allocating time to other outdoor activities. In this context, she was able to foster and be a part of the neighborhood community, in which neighbors were friendly and chatted with each other. I can say from growing up in a fast-paced urban environment that her account of that communal relationship now being destroyed is unfortunately true.

Tied to this, her narrative surrounding price fixing of goods and services was quite powerful and corroborated many economic concepts I have learned. Specifically, she referenced the (potentially unintended) consequences of underground transactions arising from the government price fixing. This involved citizens exchanging goods inside parcel boxes for other goods when regulators ignorantly placed controls on quantities in addition to pricing. Seeking to control the entire market through supply and demand via regulation simply won’t work — as demonstrated by Ina’s anecdotal example (and numerous other historical cases).

All in all, I found Ina’s chat with Professor Wong to be a valuable one, one that was especially powerful because it involved a personal account of experiences actually growing up in Eastern Germany amidst political and economic turmoil. I was able to picture her story on a macro-, microeconomic, and societal level in my mind and left me with more questions that still apply today.