The economy of the former East Germany has transformed since the defunct communist state reunited with the vastly wealthier West Germany in 1990, but more than a generation on it still lags the west in some key areas ↧ Germany's east-west divide shifts from jobs to wealth The economy of the former East Germany has transformed since the defunct communist state reunited with the vastly wealthier West Germany in 1990, but more than a generation on it still lags the west in some key areas.