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DIW Discussion Papers 2151 / 2026
We propose a new approach to estimate selection-corrected quantiles of the gender wage gap. Our method employs instrumental variables that explain variation in the latent variable but, conditional on the latent process, do not directly affect selection. We provide semiparametric identification of the quantile parameters without imposing parametric restrictions on the selection probability, derive the ...
2026| Egshiglen Batbayar, Christoph Breunig, Peter Haan, Boryana Ilieva
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DIW Discussion Papers 2135 / 2025
Commitment to gender equality and diversity has long been a stated priority for large companies, and one visible way to signal this commitment is through gender-inclusive language. Public debates around such language use increasingly surface regarding companies’ communication with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and shareholders. In particular, the adoption of newer forms of gender-inclusive ...
2025| Carolin Müller-Spitzer, Samira Ochs, Virginia Sondergeld, Katharina Wrohlich
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DIW Discussion Papers 2130 / 2025
Different methods of eliciting long-run expectations yield data that predict economic choices differently well. We ask members of a wide population sample to make a 10-year investment decision and to forecast stock market returns in one of two formats: they either predict the average of annual growth rates over the next 10 years, or they predict the total, cumulative growth that occurs over the 10-year ...
2025| Peter Haan, Chen Sun, Felix Weinhardt, Georg Weizsäcker
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DIW Discussion Papers 2129 / 2025
Mental health and wellbeing are unequally distributed in high-income countries, disadvantaging low-income individuals. Unconditional, regular, and guaranteed cash transfers may help address this inequality by promoting financial security and agency. We conducted a preregistered RCT in Germany, where treated participants received monthly payments of EUR 1,200 for three years. Cash transfers improve ...
2025| Sandra Bohmann, Susann Fiedler, Maximilian Kasy, Jürgen Schupp, Frederik Schwerter
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DIW Discussion Papers 2125 / 2025
This paper examines the gendered impact of divorce on earnings and the role of the social policy context in shaping this relationship. In particular, it focuses on a policy reform enacted in Germany in 2008 that overturned previous ex-spousal support rules. Data come from the administrative records of the German Public Pension Fund. Drawing on a fixed- effects model, we study the behaviour of women ...
2025| Michaela Kreyenfeld, Sarah Schmauk, Katharina Wrohlich, Daniel Brüggmann
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DIW Discussion Papers 2123 / 2025
How does basic income (a regular, unconditional, guaranteed cash transfer) impact labor supply? We show that in search models of the labor market with income effects, this impact is theoretically ambiguous: Employment and job durations might increase or decrease, match surplus might be shifted to workers or employers, and worker surplus might be reallocated between wages and job amenities. We thus ...
2025| Sarah Bernhard, Sandra Bohmann, Susann Fiedler, Maximilian Kasy, Jürgen Schupp, Frederik Schwerter
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DIW Discussion Papers 2104 / 2024
This study examines how student aid eligibility influences application decisions to higher education using administrative data from France. We study the impact of a change in income thresholds for aid eligibility. We find that aid eligibility did not have a uniform effect on students’ applications but varied by gender and academic performance. Highperforming male students shifted their First-Ranked ...
2024| Camille Remigereau, Clara Schäper
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DIW Discussion Papers 2102 / 2024
This paper analyzes the distribution and composition of pre-tax national income in Germany since 1992, combining personal income tax returns, household survey data, and national accounts. Inequality rose from the 1990s to the late 2000s due to falling labor incomes among the bottom 50% and rising incomes in the top 10%. This trend reversed after 2007 as labor incomes across the bottom 90% increased. ...
2024| Stefan Bach, Charlotte Bartels, Theresa Neef
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DIW Discussion Papers 2101 / 2024
Promoting fathers to take parental leave is seen as a promising way to advancegender equality. However, there is still a very limited understanding of its impact on fathers’ labor market outcomes. We conducted a correspondence study to analyze whether fathers who take parental leave face discrimination during the hiring process in three different occupations. Fathers who took parental leave in a female-dominated ...
2024| Julia Schmieder, Doris Weichselbaumer, Clara Welteke, Katharina Wrohlich
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DIW Discussion Papers 2099 / 2024
Child penalties in labour market outcomes are well-documented: after childbirth, mothers’ employment and earnings drop persistently compared to fathers. Beyond gender norms, a potential driver could be the loss in labour market skills due to mothers’ longer employment interruptions. This paper estimates child penalties in adult cognitive skills by adapting the pseudo-panel approach to a single cross-section ...
2024| Jonas Jessen, Lavinia Kinne, Michele Battisti