SOEPpapers

Life Satisfaction and Relative Income: Perceptions and Evidence

Using a unique dataset we study both the actual and self-perceived relationship between subjective well-being and income comparisons against a wide range of potential comparison groups, enabling us to investigate a broader range of questions than in previous studies. In questions inserted into a 2008 module of the German-Socio Economic Panel Study we ask subjects to report (a) how their income compares ...

Duration of Maternity Leave in Germany: A Case Study of Nonparametric Hazard Models and Penalized Splines

The paper investigates maternity leave behavior in West Germany for females being employed between 1995 and 2006 using data from the German Socio Economic Panel. The observational study focuses on the investigation of individual and family-related covariate effects on the duration of maternity leave following first or second childbirth, respectively. Dynamic duration time models are used in which covariate ...

"Do I Really Need to Go to Rehab? I'd say No, No, No.": Estimating Price Elasticities of Convalescent Care Programs

This study is the first to estimate the price elasticities of demand for both medical rehabilitation programs and treatment at health spas. In Germany, the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) covers both forms of therapy if administered in authorized medical facilities on referral from a physician. While health resort stays are prescribed to recover from general symptoms of poor health and are preventive ...

Measurement of Health, the Sensitivity of the Concentration Index, and Reporting Heterogeneity

Using representative survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for 2006, we show that the magnitude of such health inequality measures as the concentration index (CI) depends crucially on the underlying health measure. The highest degree of inequality is found when dichotomized subjective health measures like health satisfaction or self-assessed health (SAH) are employed. Measures ...

Does Relative Income Matter? Are the Critics Right?

Do other peoples' incomes reduce the happiness which people in advanced countries experience from any given income? And does this help to explain why in the U.S., Germany and some other advanced countries, happiness has been constant for many decades? The answer to both questions is "Yes". We provide 4 main pieces of evidence. 1) In the U.S. General Survey (repeated samples since 1972) comparator income ...

The 60s Turnaround as a Test on the Causal Relationship between Sociability and Happiness

The nexus between social leisure and life satisfaction is riddled with endogeneity problems. In investigating the causal relationship going from the first to the second variable we start from considering that retirement is an event after which the time investable in (the outside job) relational life increases. We instrument social leisure with the probability of retirement of the three and four years ...

The Nature and Extent of Job Separations in Germany: Some New Evidence from SOEP

This paper analyses job separations in Germany using data from the German Socio- Economic Panel spanning from 1984 to 2003. Based on detailed reasons for job separation and different SOEP samples, the paper attempts to establish the nature of job separations in Germany. It brings to light some patterns of separations that have hitherto been unexplored. The findings of the study suggest, among others, ...

Low Pay Persistence in European Countries

Using panel data for twelve European countries over the period 1994-2001 we estimate the extent of state dependence in low pay. Controlling for observable and unobservable heterogeneity as well as the endogeneity of initial conditions we find positive, statistically significant state dependence in every single country. The magnitude of this effect varies by country, however this variation is not systematically ...

Comparing the Determinants of Concern about Terrorism and Crime

Both crime and terrorism impose costs onto society through the channels of fear and worry. Identifying and targeting groups which are especially affected by worries might be one way to reduce the total costs of these two types of insecurity. However, compared to the drivers of the fear of crime, the determinants of concerns regarding global terrorism are less well known. Using nationally representative ...

Demografie und Ungleichheit: der Einfluss von Veränderungen der Haushaltsstruktur auf die Einkommensverteilung in Deutschland

In Germany, two observations can be tracked over the past 15 to 20 years: First, income inequality has constantly increased while, second, the average household size has been declining dramatically. The analysis of income distribution relies on equivalence-weighted incomes, which take into account household size. Therefore, there is an obvious link between these two developments. The aim of the paper ...

Occupational Change in Britain and Germany

We use British and German panel data to analyse job changes involving a change in occupation. We assess: (1) the extent of occupational change, taking into account the possibility of measurement error in occupational codes; (2) whether job changes within the occupation differ from occupation changes in terms of the characteristics of those making such switches; and (3) the effects of the two kinds ...

Zeitpräferenzen von Kindern im Vorschulalter: eine experimentelle Untersuchung im Rahmen des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP)

Housing, Energy Cost, and the Poor: Counteracting Effects in Germany's Housing Allowance Program

Adequate housing and affordable warmth are essential human needs, the lack of which may seriously harm people's health. Germany provides an allowance to low-income households, covering the housing as well as the space heating cost, to protect people from the consequences of poor housing conditions and fuel poverty. In order to limit public expenditures, payment recipients are required to choose low-cost ...

Glass Ceiling Effect and Earnings: The Gender Pay Gap in Managerial Positions in Germany

Although there are a variety of studies on the gender pay gap, only a few relate to managerial positions. The present study attempts to fill this gap. Managers in private companies in Germany are a highly selective group of women and men, who differ only marginally in their human capital endowments. The Oaxaca/Blinder decomposition shows that the gender pay gap in the gross monthly salary can hardly ...

Between-Person Disparities in the Progression of Late-Life Well-Being

Throughout adulthood and old age, levels of well-being appear to remain relatively stable. In this chapter, we argue that focusing on a phase of life during which this positive picture does not necessarily prevail promises to help us better understand between-person disparities in the progression of late-life well-being. In a first step, we review empirical evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel ...

Are Happier People Better Citizens?

This paper presents evidence on causal influence of happiness on social capital and trust using German Socio-Economic Panel. Exploiting the unexplained cross-sectional variation in individual happiness (residuals) in 1984 to eliminate the endogeneity problem, the paper finds that happier people trust others more, and importantly, help create more social capital. Specifically, they have a higher desire ...

Why Is the World Getting Older? The Influence of Happiness on Mortality

World life expectancy has risen by around 20 years in the last 50 years. This period has also witnessed rising happiness levels around the world suggesting that happiness might be one of the causes behind the decline in mortality. We investigate the relationship between happiness and mortality using the German Socio-Economic Panel. We consider doctor visits, self-reported health, and presence of chronic ...

Intra-household Time Allocation: Gender Differences in Caring for Children

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht auf Basis von Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels für Deutschland (SOEP), inwieweit selbständige Ausländer in Deutschland überdurchschnittlich hohe Einkommen erzielen. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass ausländische Selbständige insgesamt höhere Einkommen erzielen als angestellt tätige Ausländer und dass der Unterschied größer ist als bei Selbständigen deutscher Nationalität. ...

Unternehmensgründungen von Ausländern in Deutschland: Einkommenseffekte und Implikationen für die Gründungslehre

The paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) to analyze start-ups by foreigners in Germany. The regression results are the following: First, foreigners in self-employment are found to earn more than foreigners in a regular employment position. Second, foreigners seem to gain more from self-employment relative to Germans. The earnings increase from self-employment is larger ...

Dynamics of Poor Health and Non-employment

While there is little doubt that the probability of poor health increases with age, and that less healthy people face a more difficult situation on the labour market, the precise relationship between facing the risks of health deterioration and labour market instability is not well understood. Using twelve years of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel we study the nature of the relationship between ...