Forschung SOEP: Soziale Ungleichheiten und Verteilung

Shrinking Share of Middle-Income Group in Germany and the US

According to calculations based on the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study, the proportion of middle-income group in Germany fell by more than five percentage points from 1991 to 2013, taking it to 61 percent. Germany is not the only country to have experienced such a downturn, however. Analyses of the situation in the US indicate a similar decline. To the middle-income group belong individuals in households ...

Despite the Strong Labour Market, the Share of the Middle Income Group Has Not Risen in Germany: Seven Questions to Markus M. Grabka

Inheritances in Europe: High Earners Reap the Most Benefits

By 2010, 27 to 40 percent of all households in euro countries had inherited or received gifts. This only includes transfers from outside their own household. The present value of these transfers averaged between 85,000 and 274,000 euros, depending on the relevant country. The sum of all inheritances and gifts in western Germany corresponds to one-third of the current net worth of households— and is ...

Value of Inheritances Varies Considerably from Country to Country: Eight Questions to Christian Westermeier

Erbschaften in Europa: wer viel verdient, bekommt am meisten

Bis 2010 hatten 27 bis 40 Prozent aller Haushalte in den Euroländern geerbt oder eine Schenkung erhalten. Darunter fallen nur Transfers, die von außerhalb des eigenen Haushalts kamen. Der Gegenwartswert dieser Transfers lag durchschnittlich zwischen 85 000 Euro und 274 000 Euro je nach Land. Die Summe aller Erbschaften und Schenkungen entspricht in Westdeutschland einem Drittel der aktuellen Haushaltsnettovermögen ...

Die Höhe der vererbten Beträge unterscheidet sich deutlich zwischen den Ländern: Acht Fragen an Christian Westermeier

Cognitive Skills, Non-Cognitive Skills, and Family Background: Evidence from Sibling Correlations

This paper estimates sibling correlations in cognitive and non-cognitive skills to evaluate the importance of family background for skill formation. Based on a large representative German dataset including IQ test scores and measures of non-cognitive skills, a restricted maximum likelihood model indicates a strong relationship between family background and skill formation. Sibling correlations in non-cognitive ...

Erbschaft und Eigenleistung im Vermögen der Deutschen: eine Verteilungsanalyse

Wir gehen der Frage nach, ob die gegenwärtige Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland auf eine Dominanz von Erbschaften im oberen Bereich der Verteilung zurückzuführen ist. Auf Basis von Daten der Deutschen Bundesbank zeigt sich, dass die Vermögen der Deutschen zu etwa zwei Dritteln auf Eigenleistung und zu etwa einem Drittel auf Erbschaft zurückgehen. Diese Proportion verändert sich entlang der Vermögensverteilung ...

Intergenerational Transfers and Wealth in the Euro-Area: The Relevance of Inheritances and Gifts in Absolute and Relative Terms

Private wealth is a crucial factor for the economic well‐being of households. Key determinants of private wealth include intergenerational wealth transfers (gifts and inheritances), which are gaining importance since 1990, as research suggests. We conduct a detailed investigation of the distribution of wealth transfers in eight Euro‐area countries. First, we investigate the patterns of prevalence and ...

Children's Opportunities in Germany: An Application Using Multidimensional Measures

Single parents and unmarried couples are increasingly replacing the traditional nuclear family. This paper investigates if the greater variety in living arrangements contributes to increased resource disparities among children in Germany. Children in single parent families are disadvantaged in at least three dimensions decisive for their later achievements: material standard of living, parental education, ...