We use life satisfaction and Body Mass Index (BMI) information from three waves of the SOEP to test for social interactions in BMI between spouses. Social interactions require that the cross-partial effect of partner's weight and own weight in the utility function be positive. Using life satisfaction as a utility proxy, semi-parametric regressions show that the correlation between satisfaction and ...
I argue that the empirical strategies for estimation of the intergenerational elasticity of lifetime earnings that are currently employed in the literature might not eliminate bias arising from life-cycle effects. Specifically, I demonstrate that procedures based on the generalized errors-in-variables model suggested by Haider and Solon (2006) or the consideration of differential earnings growth rates ...
It is well known that individuals' risk attitudes are related to behavioral outcomes such as smoking, portfolio decisions, and also educational attainment, but there is barely any evidence on whether parental risk attitudes affect the educational attainment of dependent children. We add to this literature and examine children's secondary school track choice in Germany where tracking occurs at age ten ...
Education is a well-known driver of (entrepreneurial) income. The measurement of its influence, however, suffers from endogeneity suspicion. For instance, ability and occupational choice are mentioned as driving both the level of (entrepreneurial) income and of education. Using instrumental variables can provide a way out. However, three questions remain: whether endogeneity is really present, whether ...
This research investigates how family events in adult children's lives influence the timing of their parents' financial transfers. We draw on retrospective data collected by the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and use event history models to study the effects of marriage, divorce, and childbirth on receiving large gifts from parents. We find increased chances of receiving gifts of houses or ...
Patience as a basis for life success is not just a question of biology and heredity: Rather, the early interaction between parent and child and socialization in early childhood appear to be the "cradle of action" in the area of time preferences as well. In this study, we use an experimental dataset collected in the framework of the longitudinal German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study to investigate ...
The present paper develops a general equilibrium model with overlapping generations and endogenous fertility in order to analyze the interaction between public policy and household labor supply and fertility decisions. The model's benchmark equilibrium reflects the current family policy as well as the differential fertility pattern of educational groups in Germany. Then we simulate alternative reforms ...
Frühkindliche Aktivitäten außer Haus können neben der Kindertagesbetreuung Möglichkeiten der frühkindlichen Bildung sein. Darüber hinaus können sie Eltern eine soziale Teilhabe sichern. Nahezu die Hälfte aller Kinder, die noch nicht zur Schule gehen, nutzt solche "außerhäusigen" Angebote. Dabei sind es bei Kindern unter drei Jahren vorrangig Eltern-Kind-Gruppen und bei Kindern im Kindergartenalter ...