Great sample for an experiment - East and West Germany. From Germany's news in English - The Local:
Former East to lag behind West for years to come: study
Twenty-six years after reunification, eastern Germany remains economically anaemic with little prospect of catching up with the rest of the country by 2030, a study published on Wednesday said.
Of the eastern states, only "Saxony and Brandenburg will reach the level of overall average German growth" between 2015 and 2030, wrote Joachim Ragnitz of the Ifo economic think-tank.
The remaining federal states formed from the former territory of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt - will by contrast reckon with "in parts extremely low growth rates".
Their infrastructure is not as good, factories are behind the times and the educational system is poor. Communism treats all citizens the same so individuality and entrepreneurship are stamped out. 26 years later, they are still a basket case.
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