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1、ambitionsbuttheirbusinessculturehasdeepprovincialroots.Theylookbackasmuchasforward."Wehaveexistedsince1825andhavebeendoingthesamethingsincethen,"saysDieterBrand,chairmanoftheSparkasse,orsavingsbank,inBielefeld,theregion'sbiggesttown.Insomesensesthesameistrueofhiscorporatecustomer
2、s.Germanymayhavereformedandrearticulateditsmodelinrecentyears.Buttheunderlyingskeletonisancient,andperhapsinimitable.Twodecadesago,thecountryseemeddistinctlyarthritic.Theeuphoriaofunificationin1990wasfollowedbythesharpestrecessionsincethesecondworldwar.Some50o,ooomanufacturingjob
3、swerelost.Businesswasmenacedbyanovervaluedn-mark,nimbleAsiancompetitorsandunification'shugecosts.Theeconomyhadbecomerigidanduncompetitive,moanedentrepreneurs.Thethen-president,RomanHerzog,capturedthezeitgeistin1997whenhespokeof"thelossofeconomicdynamism,thetorporofsociety,anunbel
4、ievablementaldepression".ReformersclamouredforelementsoftheGermanmodel,likevocationaltrainingandcentralisedwagebargaining,tobescrapped.ShapingupInsteaditwasmademorelimber.BusinessoutsourcedsomeproductiontoeasternEurope;fearofthatprocessextractedconcessionsfromGermanworkers,whooff
5、eredflexibilityonwagesandworkhoursinexchangeforgreaterjobsecurity.Inthesubsequentdecademanufacturing'sshareofGDProseevenasitwasfallingelsewhere(seechart3onnextpage).Intheearly2000s,withgrowthstillinlowgearandunemploymentindoubledigits,thethen-chancellor,GerhardSchroder,aSocialDem
6、ocrat,startedanotherroundofgruellingphysiotherapy.Hislabour-marketreformsreducedunemploymentbenefitsandliberalisedtemporarywork.Sinceshebecamechancellorin2005MrsMerkeloftheChristianDemocratshasraisedthepensionagefrom65to67andamendedtheconstitutiontorequirestateandfederalgovernmen
7、tstocuttheirstructuralbudgetdeficitstomoreorlesszero(thetemplateforwhatisnowaEurope-wideagreement).Benefitsthoughttobesacrosanctwerecut.Incomeinequalityrose.Butsodidemployment.Coreworkersinindustrialfirms-themusclebehindGermany'smanufacturingprowess-werenotaffecteddirectly.Butthe
8、riseinlow-paid,insecurejobshashelddownth
