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The East-West Gap in Pay Fairness Perceptions Converged Between 2009 and 2023
Jule Adriaans1, Carsten Sauer1
1Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Kolner Zeitschrift Fur Soziologie Und Sozialpsychologie
|June 29, 2026
Summary
Employees in eastern Germany initially perceived pay as more unfair than in western Germany. This perception gap narrowed over time, especially for low-wage workers, due to decreasing earnings disparities.
Area of Science:
- Socio-economic studies
- Labor economics
- Perception psychology
Background:
- Significant regional disparities in pay fairness perceptions existed between eastern and western Germany in 2009.
- These disparities were particularly pronounced in initial gross earnings assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolution of regional differences in pay fairness perceptions in Germany from 2009 to 2023.
- To identify the drivers behind the convergence or divergence of these perceptions over time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study.
- Employed regression analyses, stratified by wage deciles, controlling for individual and structural factors.
Main Results:
- A substantial initial gap in pay fairness perceptions between eastern and western Germany was observed.
- Regional differences in pay fairness perceptions diminished over the study period.
- Convergence was primarily driven by decreasing unfairness perceptions among low-wage employees in eastern Germany, linked to a narrowing earnings gap.
Conclusions:
- Pay fairness perceptions in eastern and western Germany have converged significantly between 2009 and 2023.
- This convergence is a result of both improvements in eastern Germany and an increase in perceived unfairness in western Germany.
- The findings highlight the impact of actual earnings convergence on subjective pay fairness perceptions.
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