Publikationen mit SOEP-Daten: SOEPlit

Reform der Hartz IV-Hinzuverdienstregelungen: Ein verfehlter Ansatz

In Germany, both policy makers and researchers have been searching for solutions to overcome the disincentives on labor supply generated by income allowances for welfare recipients (Unemployment Benefit II). Taking proposals of the German Economic Institute (IW) and the governing Liberal Party (FDP) as a starting point, the German Federal Government has intensely discussed this topic during fall 2010 ...

The Politicians’ Wage Gap: Insights from German Members of Parliament

Using a unique dataset of German members of parliament with information on total earnings including outside income, this paper analyzes the politicians’ wage gap (PWG). After controlling for observable characteristics as well as accounting for selection into politics, we find a positive PWG which is statistically and economically significant. It amounts to 40-60% compared to citizens with an executive ...

Bundestagswahlkampf 2013: Klientelpolitik durch Steuerreform?

Die Steuervorschläge der Parteien stellen einen wesentlichen Teil ihrer Wahlprogramme für die Bundestagswahl 2013 dar. Sie werden in der Öffentlichkeit kontrovers diskutiert, da davon ausgegangen wird, dass sie einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Wahlentscheidung haben werden. Daher stellt sich unmittelbar die Frage, welche Wählergruppen durch welche Steuerpläne be- oder entlastet werden. Aus politökonomischer ...

Wie progressiv ist Deutschland? Das Steuer- und Transfersystem im europäischen Vergleich

Measuring Richness and Poverty: A Micro Data Application to Europe and Germany

In this paper, we define a new class of richness measures. In contrast to the often used headcount, these new measures are sensitive to changes in rich individuals' incomes and, therefore, allow for a more sophisticated analysis of richness. We demonstrate the application of these new measures in analyzing the development of poverty and richness over time in Germany. Moreover, we compare Germany ...

Documentation IZAΨMOD: The IZA Policy SImulation MODel

This paper describes IZAΨMOD, the policy microsimulation model of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). The model uses household microdata from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and firm data from the German linked employer-employee dataset LIAB. IZAΨMOD consists of three components: First, a static module simulates the effects of a tax reform on the budget of the individual households. Secondly, ...

Accounting for Labor Demand Effects in Structural Labor Supply Models

When assessing the effects of policy reforms on the labor market, most studies only focus on labor supply. The interaction of supply and demand side is not explicitly modeled, which might lead to biased estimates of potential labor market outcomes. This paper proposes a straightforward method to remedy this shortcoming. We use information on firms’ labor demand behavior and feed them into a structural ...

Accounting for the Spouse when Measuring Inequality of Opportunity

The existing literature on inequality of opportunity (IOp) has not addressed the question of how the circumstances and choices of spouses in a couple should be treated. By omitting information relevant to the spouse in IOp estimations, the implicit assumption has been full responsibility for the spouse’s income, effort and circumstance variables. In this paper, we discuss whether or not the spouse’s ...

Equality of Opportunity: East vs. West Germany

The case of German reunification has been subject to extensive research on earnings inequality and labour market integration. However, little is known about the development of equality of opportunity (EOp) in East and West Germany after 1990. Using German micro data, we empirically analyse how circumstances beyond the sphere of individual control relate to inequality in East and West Germany. Our results ...

Mythos oder Realität: Werden die Armen immer ärmer und die Reichen immer reicher?

In der öffentlichen Debatte herrscht die Einschätzung vor, dass die Ungleichheit der Einkommen und des Vermögens in Deutschland und in Europa in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen hat. Geht die Schere zwischen Arm und Reich wirklich weiter auseinander, oder ist die wachsende Ungleichheit ein Mythos?