Eastern German Economy Catches Up

After struggling for 15 years since German reunification, eastern Germany's economy is slowly catching up to the situation in western parts of the country, according to experts at the Institute for Economic Research (IWH) in Halle. Analysts said the new German states stand a good chance of doing as well as western Germany in 2005 and 2006 in terms of economic growth. Institute officials also said that unemployment in the east is expected to drop to 18 percent from 18.9 percent in the coming year.