Economy: Study - Espionage significantly increased the economic output of the GDR
According to an analysis, espionage is said to have increased the gross domestic product by 7.4 percent. The figures apply to the year 1988, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
A study by the Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin) found that East Germany (DDR) significantly benefited from economic espionage in the West. The country's economic performance increased by 7.4% and its industrial value added was 22.3% higher, equivalent to 20.2 billion Ostmark or 4.1 billion Euros in 2020 prices, in 1988. The espionage, conducted by the Stasi, strengthened the DDR's position within the socialist bloc but did not greatly improve its success in Western markets.
Companies that received valuable information had better chances of surviving the transition to a market economy after reunification.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
