East German espionage raised GDP by 7.4% in late 1980s, study finds

By Maria Martinez ‌and Rene ​Wagner

BERLIN, ​Sept 27 (Reuters) - East Germany's extensive Cold War economic espionage in the 1970s and 1980s ‌lifted its overall economic output by 7.4% at ⁠the end of the 1980s, according to a study by ‌the Rockwool Foundation Berlin, ‌seen by Reuters on Sunday.

Here are some more details:

• Industrial value added was 22.3% higher due to ​espionage, equivalent to 20.2 billion East German marks, or €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) in 2020 prices. All estimates ⁠refer to 1988, the year before the Berlin Wall fell.

• Co-author ​Adrian Lerche said the findings had present-day relevance as governments tighten export controls, screen foreign ​investment and seek to protect ‌strategic technologies.

• The Stasi, East Germany's sprawling intelligence service, helped companies obtain scientific ⁠and technical information from Western businesses and research institutions. Firms receiving useful intelligence recorded faster productivity growth, invested more ⁠and concentrated more on core products.

• "Stasi espionage strengthened East Germany's ​position within the socialist bloc," said Albrecht Glitz, co-author of the study. "It did not, however, significantly improve success in Western ‌markets."

• The gains also spread through supplier and customer networks, supporting broader economic effects, ‌the researchers said. Each additional valuable piece of ⁠information produced an estimated ‌annual return of ​about €330,000 in 2020 prices.

($1 = 0.8770 euros)

(Reporting by Maria Martinez and Rene Wagner, editing by Thomas ‌Seythal)

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