Publikationen der Abteilung Staat

A Higher Retirement Age Has Negative Health Effects

In the policy debate, there are regular demands to further increase the retirement age to address the financial challenges for the pension system. However, a prolonged working life impacts a person’s health. Detailed data from the statutory health insurance companies shows that abolishing the “Rente für Frauen” (women’s pension) in 1999, which allowed women to retire at 60, resulted in negative health ...

While Gender Quotas for Top Positions in the Private Sector Differ across EU Countries, They Are Effective Overall

This second report in the DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer 2022 explores the designs and effects of gender quotas across Europe, coming to the conclusion that they are an effective instrument for increasing the share of women in top positions at large companies. Furthermore, the quotas differ greatly between the countries, for example in regard to the number of companies subject to the quota, ...

Markedly More Women on Executive Boards of Large Companies; Inclusion Requirement Seemingly Already Having an Effect

There was a significant increase in the number of women on executive boards of large companies in Germany from 2020 to 2021 after years of slow progress: In fall 2021, there were 139 women on the executive boards of the 200 largest companies, 38 more than in 2020. This is an increase of a good three percentage points to almost 15 percent, the largest seen since the beginning of the DIW Berlin Women ...

Executive Boards Remain Dominated By Men, but Change Is Finally Coming: Editorial

Universal Capital Endowment and Wealth Taxes Could Reduce Wealth Inequality

Wealth is very unequally distributed in Germany. To effect a long-term reduction, the new Federal Government could focus on more effectively promoting home ownership, supplementary retirement provision, and other precautionary savings. However, a universal capital endowment could decrease wealth inequality much more rapidly and successfully. In this report, a universal capital endowment of up to 20,000 ...

Need for Long-Term Care Depends on Social Standing

The poor have a significantly shorter life expectancy than the wealthy. Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel, this Weekly Report shows that poorer people become in need of care earlier in life and more often. In addition, blue-collar workers have a higher risk of requiring care than civil servants, as do people with high job strain compared to those with low job strain. The risk of dependence on ...

20 Years of the Riester Pension - Personal Retirement Provision Requires Reform

Introduced 20 years ago as a part of the 2001 pension reform, the Riester pension is meant to function as an essential component of the German pension system with the aim of compensating for decreasing public pensions. However, data collected by the SOEP show that this objective has not yet been achieved. For ten years, use of the Riester pension plan has been stagnating at around 25 percent of the ...

Real Estate Taxation Reform: Tax Land Values, Abolish Privileges

Real estate is taxed at comparatively low rates in Germany, with primarily the affluent benefiting from numerous existing tax privileges. This Weekly Report describes the current state of real estate taxation in Germany and outlines reform proposals that could increase tax revenue, improve the efficiency of the tax system, and reduce wealth and income inequality. In the case of property tax, value-based ...

Child Health during the First Coronavirus Lockdown in Germany: Fewer Treatment Cases and Fewer Diagnoses of Infections

During the first coronavirus lockdown in Germany in spring 2020, treatment cases of children in outpatient care declined by up to 20 percent. As this study based on administrative diagnosis data of all statutory health insurance companies in Germany shows, there were significantly fewer physical diseases, such as infections, diagnosed in one to 12-year-old children in the second quarter of 2020 compared ...

Gender Pay Gap in a European Comparison: Positive Correlation between the Female Labor Force Participation Rate and the Gender Pay Gap

Public interest in the gender pay gap has risen significantly over the past years in Germany, but the size of the gender pay gap has barely changed. A comparison across European countries shows that a lower female labor force participation rate is associated with a smaller gender pay gap. The gender differences in the characteristics of the labor force, which vary across countries, are one explanation ...