Strukturální změny průmyslu v Německé demokratické republice v letech 1980-1989

This bachelor’s thesis analyzes the structural development of industry in the German Democratic Republic from 1980 to 1989, focusing on the volume of industrial production, employment, and investment in individual sectors and their relationship to state economic policy. The results of the analysis show that structural changes manifested themselves differently across the individual indicators examined. While the structure of employment remained virtually unchanged and the production structure underwent only limited changes, more significant changes were evident in the distribution of investments. Investment policy gradually shifted toward program-priority and technologically more demanding sectors, particularly the electrical engineering and electronics industries; however, by the end of the period under review, this reorientation had not resulted in a corresponding increase in their importance in terms of production. Conversely, the machinery and automotive industries, the chemical industry, and the energy and fuel industries retained their significant positions. The study thus confirms the hypothesis that, despite the modernization policy, the industrial structure of the GDR remained significantly oriented toward traditional heavy industry sectors. The added value of this study lies in its comprehensive comparison of trends in production, employment, and investment at the level of individual industrial sectors, which makes it possible to identify the discrepancy between declared economic priorities and their actual impact on the structure of industry.