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14 July 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Subsidized Employment and Happiness

Benjamin Crost (Berkeley University)

Abstract

 While a large body of evidence suggests that unemployment and self-reported happiness are negatively correlated, it is not clear whether this reflects a causal effect of unemployment on happiness and whether subsidized employment can increase the happiness of the unemployed. To close this gap, I estimate the causal effect of a type of subsidized employment projects - Germany's Arbeitsbeschaffungsmassnahmen - on self-reported happiness. Results from matching and fixed effects estimators suggest that subsidized employment has a large and statistically significant positive effect on the happiness of individuals who would otherwise have been unemployed. Detailed panel data on pre- and post-project happiness suggests that this effect can neither be explained by self-selection of happier individuals into employment nor by the higher incomes of the employed.

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
07 July 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Income inequality, relative income and health

Cristina Blanco (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Abstract

Given the lack of consensus in the literature regarding the effect of income inequality on health, this paper studies the relationship between both variables, focusing on the relative income hypotheses. Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyse the effect of relative deprivation on individual self-assessed health, when considering "upwards" and "downwards" income comparisons within the reference group. We also control for the existence of feedbacks effects between income and health in a dynamic qualitative response model.

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Eleanor-Dulles-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
30 June 2010

30 June 2010 to 2 July 2010 GSOEP SOEP 2010

The 9th International German Socio-Economic Panel User Conference (SOEP2010) will be held in Berlin, June 30 to July 2nd, 2010, at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). The conference provides researchers who use the SOEP with the opportunity to present and discuss their work with other researchers familiar with SOEP data. Researchers of all disciplines (e.g. economics, demographics, geography, political science, public health, psychology and sociology) who use the SOEP or the GSOEP part of the Cross-National Equivalent Files (CNEF) are invited to submit an abstract. We encourage in particular submission of papers using the longitudinal features of SOEP as well as papers on survey methodology and cross national comparative analysis.

More Information
Keynote Speaker
  • Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln,
    Faculty of Economics, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt (Main)
Location
WZB, Berlin Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin
 Berlin, Germany
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 283
14 to 16 June 2010

GSOEP SOEPcampus@Universität Mannheim 2010

This year's SOEPcampus@Universität Mannheim Workshop "Längsschnittdatenanalyse mit dem Sozio-ökonomischen Panel (SOEP)" will take place from June 14-16 (workshop held in German).

More Information
Contact(s)
external
Prof. Dr. Marita Jacob
09 June 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Respondent-Driven Sampling

Elisabeth Liebau, DIW Berlin
Matthias Schonlau, Rand Corporation and DIW Berlin

Abstract
Respondent driven sampling (RDS) is a sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations (e.g. injecting drug users, men having sex with men, and sex workers).
Briefly, initial seed respondents recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. The recruiting process repeats iteratively, thereby forming long referral chains.
It is crucial to obtain estimates of respondents' network size (e.g. number of friends with the characteristic of interest). RDS shares some similarities with snowball sampling, but the theoretical foundation for inference using RDS samples is much stronger. We will give a brief overview over this technique, studies that have used RDS and some of the challenges they encountered.

The presentation will be in German. 

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Eleanor-Dulles-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
02 June 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Measuring Time Use in Surveys - A Novel Validation of Survey Questions through Experience Sampling

Bettina Sonnenberg, DIW Berlin
Michaela Riediger, MPI for Human Development
Cornelia Wruz, MPI for Human Development
Gert G. Wagner, DIW Berlin

 Abstract
According to the literature, it is still not clear to what extent stated time allocation in questionnaires reflects the actual behavior of people. Using experience sampling data, we analyze the congruence of stated time use and reported behavior elicited through a novel experience sampling method. Our comparisons indicate that rather long-lasting and outstanding activities like market work seem to be accurately measured by common survey questions. In contrast, for more short-term activities or those around which people do not tend to structure their time—such as errands—only small correlations can be revealed. We conclude that activities with a long duration can be measured in a satisfactory manner by short survey questions whereas it is an open methodological question if experience sampling method or survey questions deliver more reliable and valid measures for short-term activities.

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
04 to 05 May 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
A comparison of following rules and weighting approaches in household panel surveys

Matthias Schonlau, Rand Corporation
Martin Kroh, DIW Berlin

Abstract
The first wave of a household panel survey captures a cross section of the population at one point in time. However, target population and household composition change over time. Following rules are introduced to decide which household members are still surveyed after they leave the household. We compare following rules of several large household panels and show how different following rules would have affected sample size in the SOEP. Changing household compositions also raise questions about appropriate sampling weights. We compare various weighting approaches employed by large household panels to address this issue. We find that after 25 panel years most respondents still live in a household with a wave 1 respondent. Therefore, following rules have relatively little impact on sample size.

Time
12.30 - 1.30 p.m.
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
21 April 2010

GSOEP SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Interviewer Personality and Survey Error: Interviewers' Conscientiousness as Predictor for Item- and Unit Nonresponse in a Panel Household Study

Michael Weinhardt, DIW Berlin

In household panel surveys, interviewers' first task is to secure respondents' cooperation, i.e. initial response and response over time. A second task is to collect and record precise information on the respondents. Previous studies have shown that the 'Big-Five' personality trait conscientiousness is significantly related to general indicators of job performance. In this paper we look at whether this holds for survey interviewers also. The data used to investigate this problem is unique in the sense that it did not have to rely on data provided by fieldwork agencies, but information on interviewers that was collected during a separate study. In December 2006, a survey of all current interviewers of the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP) was conducted and 546 interviewers responded to a 10-page paper questionnaire. This included a short version of the Big Five Inventory, a scale to assess the 'Big Five' personality traits including conscientiousness. Also in 2006, a refreshment sample for the SOEP was drawn and respondents interviewed for the first time, giving the opportunity to study initial unit response. With this data, we examined the effects of interviewers' conscientiousness on initial response, household attrition and item nonresponse by linking survey data from the interviewers with household and individual level information on respondents. Using a multilevel regression framework, we find that interviewer conscientiousness is not related to initial response in 2006, but is significantly related to overall item nonresponse in 2006 and to household attrition in 2007. Results will be discussed in terms of their usefulness for the recruitment and training of interviewers, highlighting the importance of conscientiousness in an interviewer's approach to work.

Time
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
24 March 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Agreeable Housewives? Women's Noncognitive Skills and Return to Employment after Childbirth

Eva M. Berger, DIW Berlin

Recent economic literature found that noncognitive skills play an important role in economic and social success like educational attainment and employment outcomes. In particular for employment probabilities, some studies even conclude that noncognitive skills have a larger impact than cognitive skills and that this pattern is especially pronounced for women. Building on this literature, this paper investigates how noncognitive traits affect the time until a mother returns to employment after childbirth. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), I refer to the concepts of Locus of Control and of the Big Five personality traits. I estimate a discrete survival model incorporating a discrete mixture distribution to summarize unobserved heterogeneity. The results indicate that women with a high score on agreeableness return to employment later. The effects of extraversion and belief in external control are both found to be inversely U-shaped. Individuals at both extremes of the traits return to employment later than individuals with moderate traits.

Time
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
04 to 05 March 2010

Symposium Sixth International Young Scholar German Socio-Economic Panel Symposium

For the sixth time the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) of the University of Bremen and the Jacobs University and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) in collaboration with the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study (HWK) are pleased to announce the "International Young Scholar German Socio-Economic Panel Symposium".

The symposium provides an opportunity for doctoral students of all disciplines (e.g. economics, demography, psychology, sociology) at any stage of their doctoral thesis, to present empirical research in progress – carried out with panel data (especially SOEP data) – and to discuss theoretical, conceptual and empirical issues with senior researchers. We encourage interested young scholars to submit abstracts.

If you would like to attend the symposium, please submit an abstract of your topic (350 words, in English) together with complete contact information before November 30, 2009.  

More Information
Location
Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst/ Germany
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0) 421-218  66355
Contact(s)
external
Yvonne Lott
BIGSSS & DIW Berlin

Ekaterina Uglanova
BIGSSS, Jacobs University
Campus ring 1
28759 Bremen
Tel.: +49 (0) 421-200 3952
Fax: +49 (0) 421-200 3955
Email: euglanov@bigsss-bremen.de
03 March 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Dynamic Aspects of Income Justice

Peter Valet
Stefan Liebig, University of Bielefeld

Empirical research on distributive justice seeks to identify justice perceptions in a society which can be considered as patterns that legitimate inequalities. Therefore the analysis of distributive justice evaluations primarily focuses on the perceived justice of (labour) incomes.

So far empirical justice research using large scale survey data was restricted to a cross-sectional perspective. The recent wave of the GSOEP (2009) now provides the third query (after 2005 and 2007) concerning the justice evaluation of the own income. Hence it is now possible to investigate dynamic aspects of just incomes with a panel approach.

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
24 February 2010

Seminar SOEP Brown Bag Seminar
Preferences, Institutions, and Stereotypes - Determinants of the Gender Specific Occupational Channelling

Anne Busch, DIW Berlin 

Although women and men nowadays are similarly work-oriented and show a comparable human capital accumulation (e.g. concerning education), most women still work in typical "women's jobs" and most men in typical "men's jobs". While there exists much research about consequences of working in gender typical or atypical occupations, only few studies analyze systematically the determinants of the gender specific occupational channelling on the individual level.

With her presentation, Anne Busch tries to fill this gap: The main goal is to analyze empirically the determinants of the gender specific occupational "choices", and to broaden the theoretical view from more classical pre-occupational, preference-oriented theories to institutional and social-psychological as well as organizational approaches.

Time
12.30 - 13.30
Location
DIW Berlin (Gustav-Schmoller-Raum) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 228
22 to 24 February 2010

Graduate Center Masterclasses Berliner Netzwerk Arbeitsmarkt (BeNA) Lecture Series 2010
Topics in Regression Analysis

Jointly organized with BENA lecture series (3 lectures of 90 mins).

The lectures will be largely based on the recently published book "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion" by Joshua Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke.

Topics covered in the lectures include:
(1) Basics in regression analysis: The role of control variables and measurement error
(2) Grouped data and two sample IV methods
(3) Weak instrumental variables

The lecture series is targeted at grad students, Ph. D. students, and postdocs, but all interested researchers
are welcome! Attendance is free of charge.

Affiliates of the Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics and Management Science (BDPEMS) can also register on the BDPEMS webpage.

The Masterclasses are open to all affiliates of DIW Berlin and BDPEMS.

More Information
Keynote Speaker
  • Prof. Jörn-Steffen Pischke
    London School of Economics (LSE)
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 464
Tel.: +49 30 89789 247
22 to 24 October 2009

Conference 3rd Conference of the Leibniz Research Network "Non-Cognitive Skills: Acquisition and Economic Consequences"

Local Organizer: Jürgen Schupp, C. Katharina Spiess, Christine Kurka (Sozio-oekonomisches Panel)

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Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 283
04 to 09 October 2009

Workshop International Research Workshop "Methods for Ph.D."

Empirical research is seeking through methodological processes to discover, hopefully, nontrivial facts and insights. Beside choosing a topic and grounding an idea in theory, empirical research consists of gathering and analysing data as well as presenting results in scientific contexts in order to contribute new issues to the body of acquired knowledge - not only to someone‘s own but also to that of others.

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Location
Akademie Sankelmark near Flensburg
10 to 12 Sept 2009

Workshop SOEP-CNEF Workshop

Workshop for International Users of SOEP and CNEF Data

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Location
Cornell University Ithaca, NY USA
27 to 28 March 2009

Symposium 5th International Young Scholar German Socio-Economic Panel Symposium

Symposium of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) at the University of Bremen and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) at DIW Berlin in collaboration with the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study (HWK).

Closing date for submissions is December 31, 2008.

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Location
Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Delmenhorst/ Germany
25 to 26 Nov 2008

Event Economics of Education
With Prof. Steve Machin (University College London)

The 2008 BeNA Lecture Series will be held by Steve Machin. Steve Machin is Professor of Economics at University College London, Director of the Centre for the Economics of Education, and Research Director at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is also one of the Editors of The Economic Journal.

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Location
DIW Berlin (Schumpeter Saal) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
09 to 11 July 2008

Conference SOEP 2008
8th International Socio-Economic Panel User Conference

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Location
WZB, Berlin Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin
 Berlin, Germany
15 to 16 Nov 2007

Workshop Berliner Netzwerk Arbeitsmarkt (BeNA)
Theorie und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten moderner ökonometrischer Matchingmethoden / "Short Course on Econometric Evaluations with Matching Methods"

Ziel dieses Kurses ist es die Teilnehmer mit der Theorie und den Anwendungsmöglichkeiten moderner ökonometrischer Matchingmethoden vertraut zu machen. Es wird 1,5 Tage an Vorlesungen zu verschiedenen Aspekten ökonmetrischer Matchingschätzungen geben, die mit praktischen Beispielen veranschaulicht werden. Prof. Michael Lechner von der Universität St. Gallen wird diese vierte Vortragsreihe halten.

Das Berliner Netzwerk Arbeitsmarktforschung (BeNA) wurde im Jahr 2004 als Zusammenschluss junger, in Berlin beschäftigter ArbeitsmarktforscherInnen gegründet und versteht sich als Forum für die Diskussion und Entwicklung von Projekten auf dem Feld der Arbeitsmarktforschung. Zurzeit sind das Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin), die Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) und das Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB) aktiv am Netzwerk beteiligt. Weitere Kooperationen mit der Freien Universität Berlin und der Technischen Universität Berlin sind geplant. Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit des Netzwerkes steht das Berliner Arbeitsmarktseminar, das allen Forschern offen steht, die einem der kooperierenden Institute angehören.

More Information
Keynote Speaker
  • Prof. Michael Lechner, Universität St. Gallen
Location
WZB, Berlin Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin
 Berlin, Germany
Contact(s)
at DIW Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 89789 354
01 Nov 2007

Berlin Lunchtime Meeting Geschlechtergerechtigkeit und Arbeitsbelastung
Überraschende Evidenz von Zeitverwendungserhebungen

Die Veranstaltung findet in deutscher Sprache statt.
Referent: Prof. Michael C. Burda, Ph.D. (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Kommentar: Tristana Moore, BBC-Korrespondentin
Moderator: Dr. Hilmar Schneider, IZA, Bonn

Bitte beachten – neuer Ort!

Zeitverwendungsdaten aus 27 Ländern lassen Interessantes über die Geschlechterverteilung der Gesamtarbeitszeit – die Summe aus Markt- und unentgeltlicher Haushaltsarbeit – schließen. In reichen, nicht-katholischen Ländern auf vier Kontinenten leisten Frauen und Männer im Mittelwert die gleiche Arbeitszeit – gemessen an Minuten am Tag. Dieser Fakt – der unter Soziologen bekannt aber unerklärt ist – ist frappierend, vor allem im Hinblick auf die große Varianz der individuell geleisteten Gesamtarbeitszeit. Ferner hängt die Geschlechterungleichheit der Arbeitsverteilung im internationalen Vergleich negativ mit der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung zusammen – in den ärmsten Ländern arbeiten Frauen erheblich mehr als Männer. Detaillierte Daten aus Deutschland und den USA belegen, dass die Gleichheit der Arbeitsbelastung nicht am Ehe- bzw. Familienstand liegt, denn diese Faktoren erklären nur einen geringen Anteil der beträchtlichen Variation der Arbeitszeit innerhalb von Haushalten. Eine Theorie der sozialen Normen, deren Kraft mit steigendem Wohlstand zunimmt, erscheint eher geeignet, diese überraschende Regelmäßigkeit zu erklären.

Michael C. Burda ist Professor für Volkswirtschaftslehre und leitet seit 1993 als Direktor das Instituts für Wirtschaftstheorie II an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte liegen in der Makroökonomie und der Arbeitsmarktforschung.

Hilmar Schneider ist seit Juli 2001 Direktor für Arbeitsmarktpolitik am IZA, Bonn. Darüber hinaus ist er seit 2002 Research Affiliate des DIW Berlin. 2006 wurde er zum Mitglied im Rat für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsdaten ernannt.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Teilnahme und bitten Sie, Ihre verbindliche Anmeldung bis spätestens 31. Oktober 2007 via E-Mail an events@diw.de zu senden.

More Information
Time
12:00 - 14:00
Location
DIW Berlin (Schumpeter Saal) DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin
08 to 12 October 2007

Workshop SOEP@CAMPUS2007
Analysemöglichkeiten mit dem Sozio-oekonomischen Panel

Viele sozialwissenschaftliche Forschungsfragen lassen sich nur mit Längsschnittdaten untersuchen. Da der Umgang mit entsprechenden Datensätzen und Analyseverfahren anspruchsvoll, in der universitären Methodenausbildung aber nicht überall fest verankert ist, findet vom 8.10.-12.10.07 an der Universität Duisburg-Essen ein Workshop statt. Die Veranstaltung richtet sich an Studierende und Nachwuchswissenschaftler aus den Fächern Soziologie, Ökonomie, Politikwissenschaft und Psychologie.

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02 to 07 Sept 2007

Workshop International Research Workshop "Methods for Ph.D."

Empirical research is seeking through methododical processes to discover, hopefully, non-trivial facts and insights. Beside choosing a topic and grounding a research idea in theory research is gathering, analysing, and presentations in scientific contexts to add results to the body of knowledge not only of one‘s own but also to that of others.

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Location
Akademie Sankelmark near Flensburg
12 to 14 June 2007

Conference ECINEQ 2007: 2nd meeting of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality

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06 to 07 March 2006

Workshop SOEP Workshop

Keynote Speaker
  • Patricia Alvarez-Plata, DIW Berlin
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Alfred Steinherr, DIW Berlin
Time
10:00 - 17:00
Location
DIW Berlin im Quartier 110 Mohrenstraße 58 10117 Berlin