The happiness gap between transition and non-transition countriesEconomic progress coupled with political and institutional stability is needed to reduce unhappiness

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As with any transformational process, the socioeconomic transition in the postcommunist space has divided the population into 'winners' and 'losers,' the latter experiencing severe social costs. Existing studies suggest that the losers were often those who had limited financial possibilities, e.g. the low-skilled, unemployed, or elderly, while the winners were better educated, younger, and more entrepreneurial 1 The 'winners' were not only able to adapt themselves to the changing economic conditions: some of them were even able to create powerful interest groups to weaken the postcommunist states, 2 to promote and support the reforms 3 and, as a result, to enjoy the results of the transformation from collective to individ

Germany is an important destination for migrants from other European countries. That is particularly true of the Danube region, a European Union (EU) macroregion with deep economic and historical interconnections. Immigrants tend to be younger than the average of the German population, with children accounting for 15% of all migrants. The authors start with a short overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on preschool and early education as a tool for acquisition by immigrant children of the host country’s language. The focus is then shifted to the policy sphere, with the example of Germany and in particular the federal state of Bavaria, in the context of the challenges and best practices used to tackle the integration of such children. The article considers Regensburg, the fourth-largest city in the State of Bavaria, and the Landkreis (district) Kelheim to the southwest of Regensburg as case studies to illustrate the similarities and differences of their municipal approaches to the promotion of German language acquisition by immigrant children and their parents.

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