SOEP-Suche

The Distribution of National Income in Germany, 1992-2019

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. ...

The distribution of national income in Germany, 1992–2019

This paper estimates and analyzes the distribution and composition of pre-tax national income in Germany since reunification, combining personal income tax returns, household survey data, and national accounts. We find that pre-tax national income inequality has increased since the 1990s, though to a lesser extent than suggested by previous studies. Our results draw parallels in top income structure ...

Random Forests for Labor Market Analysis: Balancing Precision and Interpretability

Vermögensaufbau stärken, Erbschaften und Schenkungen gleichmäßiger besteuern

The effect of social comparison on debt taking: Experimental evidence

A number of studies show a link between social comparison and high levels of household debt. However, the exact underlying mechanisms are not yet well understood. In this paper, we disentangle two mechanisms in a lab experiment to study the effects of social image concerns and peer information on debt-financed consumption choices. We find that having to announce their consumption decisions publicly ...

Buffering effects of volunteering on the link between negative life events and adults' life satisfaction: Disentangling within- and between-person effects

This study explores how volunteering buffers the association between negative life events and life satisfaction using data from two longitudinal surveys: HILDA (30,693 participants, one-year intervals) and SOEP (60,701 participants, two-year intervals). We applied multiple-group random intercept cross-lagged panel models to examine how volunteering moderates the effects between dependent negative life ...

Mode choice inertia and shock: Three months of almost fare-free public transport in Germany

This study analyses travellers’ behavioural responses to two temporal measures implemented by the German government: the reduction in public transport prices, making it almost fare-free, and a decrease in fuel taxes to the minimum level permitted by European law. Based on a panel dataset of GPS-tracked trips collected before and during the price intervention from a representative sample of 276 individuals, ...

Socialism, identity and the well-being of unemployed women

Unemployment influences people’s life satisfaction beyond negative income shocks. A large body of literature investigates these non-pecuniary costs of unemployment and stresses the importance of social norms, especially for men. We add to this literature by showing that norm non-compliance may equally inflate the non-pecuniary loss of well-being for unemployed women. Using German panel data, we use ...

Redefining the personality profiles of early-stage solopreneurs: A cross-sector study

This study explores the diversity in the personality profiles of solopreneurs in high- and non-high-tech sectors during the initial business phase, driven by the need to determine whether sector specific personality traits are crucial for entrepreneurial success. Utilizing the Big Five personality traits (BFPT), we analyze data on 4,470 solopreneurs from the IAB/ZEW Start-up Panel (2018 and 2019 waves). ...

The Green Transition and Political Polarization Along Occupational Lines

Green transition policies set long-term targets to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants, posing a threat to workers in polluting occupations and communities reliant on them. Can far-right parties attract voters who anticipate losing from the green transition? We explore this in Germany, which has ambitious green policies and a large workforce in polluting occupations. The far-right AfD started ...