The aim of the research project was to non-take-up of social assistance for the elderly. The analysis is based on the Socio-economic Panel (SOEP). Using a microsimulation model (STSM) developed at DIW Berlin, it was determined on the basis of survey data from the previous year (including income and property information, household context, living situation, health situation, household equipment)...
In many dynamic decision problems, the relevant market prices and budget constraints are random variables whose realizations lie in the future. This makes optimal decision-making difficult as optimality requires an accurate quantification and interpretation of the dynamic processes operating in the market. The studies in this project model and test the agents’ expectations about relevant...
The project attempts to bridge the gap between national accounts income aggregates and inequality studies based on micro data for Germany more systematically. We combine personal income tax statistics, household surveys such as the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and national accounts data on income distribution in a comprehensive and consistent manner to build “Distributional National...
The project analyses the effects of the statutory minimum wage on poverty in Germany. We use the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to examine the development of income poverty. Using a microsimulation model, the project studies the effect of minimum wages on social benefits.
Current Project| Public Economics, German Socio-Economic Panel study
The research group is concerned with time policy as one element of social policy. Time policy allows individuals and households to cope with time conflicts during critical phases in their employment biographies. Time policy includes measures and benefits that enable employees to use their time resources according to their preferences, irrespective of their income. We identify critical phases in...
In the project, the differences between the German and Austrian pension systems are to be systematized and analyzed on the basis of administrative microdata and dynamic simulation models. In contrast to the previous use of stylized biographies or empirical averages, the added value of the project lies in the analysis based on microdata as well as in the differentiated consideration of individual...
The demographic change poses numerous challenges to societies in developed countries. In particular, the increasing longevity and the related ageing of societies affect the organization and the financing of the welfare state. Therefore, most governments have introduced or are about to design reforms of the welfare state, most important of the pension system. At the same time the increasing...
The gender wage gap is a persistent and pervasive phenomenon observable in virtually all countries. It has strong implications for a society since it is one main driver of inequality in a country. Therefore, there exists an active public debate and an important academic literature that describes and quantifies the gender wage gap, analyses the reasons for this gap and discusses potential policy...
Current Project| Gender Economics, Public Economics
The main objective of this project is to analyse how inequalities in old age have developed over time and birth cohorts, to what extent public policies have influenced these trends, and to assess the potential of sociopolitical reforms to reduce such inequalities. This project analyses and compares data and sociopolitical reforms (retirement and longterm care) from North America (Canada), Western...
We conduct a stated preference experiment to analyze the effects of pension incentives, increasing retirement age, and provision of a partial retirement scheme on individuals’ preferences to work parttime and full-time beyond the early and legal retirement ages. We conduct the experiment in Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the United States for an international comparative analysis.
We analyzed the economic impact and institutional issues of wealth taxation (recurrent wealth tax, inheritance and gift tax, local taxes on land and buildings, one-time capital levy, real estate appraisal).
The goal of this project is to empirically analyze the work incentive and employment effects of earnings-related subsidies in the presence of high structural unemployment when labor market flexibility is hindered by wage rigidity related to institutional factors, in particular minimum wages and means-tested income support for unemployed people. We specify and estimate a structural microeconometric...
Recurring Project| Public Economics, Gender Economics