The Trabant, and the Fall of the Wall B elow is an account of the fall of the Berlin Wall, written by someone who was there. Andreas Ramos was born in Colombia and grew up in the United States, but he had studied in Germany and was living in Denmark when rumors grew that something big was about to happen in Berlin. Ramos and some friends got a car and started driving toward the divided capital city. Here is what Ramos said happened next: At the border city of Braunschweig (Brunswick), on the German side, we began to see the first Trabants. These are small East German cars. 

They don’t just look like toy cars, they look like Donald Duck’s car. [The Trabant] was designed by a famous East German industrial designer during the 50s and it never changed. It’s the only car in the world with tail fins. It has cheap, thin metal that rusts easily. The two-stroke engine buzzes like a lawn mower and pumps out clouds of smoke. God help you if you’re standing near one. Trabants, which Germans call Trabis, have a top speed of about 50 miles an hour. . . . 

We finally reached the border just after midnight. The East German border was always a serious place. Armed guards kept you in your car, watching for attempts at escapes. Tonight was a different country. Over 20,000 East and West Germans were gathered there in a huge party: as each Trabi came through, people cheered and clapped. East Germans drove through the applause, grinning, dazed, as thousands of flashbulbs went off. The traffic jam was spectacular. 

The cloud of light turned out to be the headlights of tens of thousands of cars in a huge cloud of Trabi exhaust fumes. We got out of [our] car and began walking. Between lanes of cars, streams of people were walking, talking together. Under one light, a group of musicians were playing violins and accordions and men and women were dancing in circles. Despite the brilliantly cold night, car windows were open and everyone talked to each other.

What economic institutions were adopted In North Korea? What economic institutions were adopted In South Korea? Why do these contrasting economic institutions have such different outcomes? Explain your answer.