SOEP Research: Inequality and Mobility

Child Poverty during the Recession in Germany

A Comparison of Intergenerational Mobility Curves in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the US

We examine intergenerational mobility differences between Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the US. Using ranks, we find that the US is substantially less intergenerationally mobile than the three European countries and that the most mobile region of the US is less mobile than the least mobile regions of Norway and Sweden. Using a linear estimator of income share mobility, we find that the four countries ...

An Integrated Approach for Top-Corrected Ginis

Household survey data provide a rich information set on income, household context and demographic variables, but tend to under report incomes at the very top of the distribution. Administrative data like tax records offer more precise information on top incomes, but at the expense of household context details and incomes of non-filers at the bottom of the distribution. We combine the benefits of the ...

The Short-Term Distributional Effects of the German Minimum Wage Reform

This study quantifies the short-term distributional effects of the new statutory minimum wage in Germany. Using detailed survey data (German Socio-Economic Panel), we assess changes in the distributions of hourly wages, contractual and actual working hours, and monthly earnings. Our descriptive results indicate growth at the bottom of the hourly wage distribution in the post-reform year, but also considerable ...

The Short-Run Employment Effects of the German Minimum Wage Reform

We assess the short-term employment effects of the introduction of a national statutory minimum wage in Germany in 2015. For this purpose, we exploit variation in the regional treatment intensity, assuming that the stronger a minimum wage 'bites' into the regional wage distribution, the stronger the regional labour market will be affected. In contrast to previous studies, we draw upon detailed individual ...

Exploring the Possibilities and Boundaries of Survey Data for the Analysis of Wealth and Wealth Transfers

Ein eklatanter Mangel an Register- oder Steuerdaten zur Nutzung von Forschern in Deutschland führt zur Situation, dass Umfragedaten die einzig nutzbaren Anhaltspunkte zur Vermögensverteilung geben. Zwei der vier Forschungsbeiträge dieser Dissertation beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, wie zum einen die Qualität der Umfragedaten verbessert werden kann. Zwei weitere Beiträge erörtern die Möglichkeiten ...

Terminal Decline in Well-Being Differs between Residents in East Germany and West Germany

Lifespan research has long been interested in how contexts shape individual development. Using the separation and later reunification of Germany as a kind of natural experiment we examine whether and how living and dying in the former East or West German context has differentially shaped late-life development of well-being. We apply multi-level growth models to annual reports of life satisfaction collected ...

Perceptions of Discrimination: What Do They Measure and Why Do They Matter?

This study addresses the difficulty in linking ethnic discrimination and integration outcomes of immigrants in empirical research. Many of the existing studies look at the relationship between perceived discrimination and integration, but most are based on cross-sectional data. We argue that perceived discrimination should not be taken as an accurate indicator of actual experiences of discrimination, ...

Minimum Wage Not yet for Everyone: On the Compensation of Eligible Workers before and after the Minimum Wage Reform from the Perspective of Employees

Calculations based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) show that after the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany in January 2015, the wage growth of eligible employees with low wages accelerated significantly. Before the reform, the nominal growth in contractual hourly wages in the lowest decile, the bottom tenth of the pay distribution, was less than two percent in the long-term ...

In Germany, approximately 1.8 million workers eligible for the minimum wage are earning less

The introduction of the minimum wage in Germany led to significant increases in wages –– However, around seven percent of eligible workers earn less than minimum wage, with the marginally employed and employees at small businesses being particularly affected –– When one also takes into account workers who are not eligible for a minimum wage, such as freelancers, a total of around ...