Immer noch anders: Erwachsene mit geringen Lese- und Schreibkenntnissen und unterschiedlichen Alterskohorten in ost- und westdeutschen Bundesländern,Still different: adults with low literacy skills and different age cohort experiences in eastern and western German federal states
This article examines the relationship between literacy and age cohorts in eastern and western Germany. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) lost its existence in 1989, but an intense discussion on discrimination against eastern Germany and fundamentally diverse election results allow the claim that eastern and western Germany have not converged as expected. The paper therefore examines how the very different experiences of several age cohorts affected the literacy skills in both parts of Germany. Based on secondary analyses of the Level-One Survey 2018, the population with low literacy skills in eastern Germany is thus described according to sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. Subsequently, predictors for low literacy are worked out. The findings show, firstly, that the group of people with low literacy skills in eastern Germany is older and less often migrant than in the western part, has more often school and professional qualifications, but still more often face unemployment. Secondly, the effect of lower literacy of older cohorts in the bivariate analysis is reversed when other factors are controlled for, so that the younger, specifically eastern German cohorts show lower literacy values. This may be a sign that better educated people leave eastern Germany for better professional chances.