Diversity in education systems, and broader political and economic conditions, are commonly credited with international variation in inequality of educational opportunity (IEO). Comparing East and West Germany before reunification allows us to investigate whether vastly different political, economic and educational systems led to differences in IEO. Post-reunification, East Germany adopted the West's systems and experienced an economic recession. IEO had been smaller in East than in West Germany but was on an upward trajectory before reunification. After 1990, IEO in East Germany converged to the West German level as a result of decreased IEO in the West and increasing levels in the East. Post-reunification convergence suggests differences in political context and education policy are crucial for IEO.

中文翻译：

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东德和西德教育机会不平等：趋同还是持续存在？

教育制度的多样性以及更广泛的政治和经济条件通常被认为是受教育机会不平等的国际差异所致。统一之前比较东德和西德，使我们能够研究出政治，经济和教育体制的巨大差异是否导致独立外部评价的差异。统一后，东德采用了西方的制度，并经历了经济衰退。东部的IEO小于西德，但在统一之前呈上升趋势。1990年以后，由于西方IEO的减少和东方EIO的增加，东德的IEO收敛到西德的水平。统一后的趋同表明，政治背景和教育政策的差异对于IEO至关重要。