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The maternal living situation is more closely reflected in the development of their children born in Germany than their experience of being a refugee

The Impact of Financial Support to Firms during Crises: The Case of Covid Aid in the EU

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a global economic crisis, leading governments to provide substantial State aid to support firms. This paper examines the effectiveness of Covid-related financial support in Spain and Italy, focusing on its impact on firm recovery. Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach combined with propensity score weighting, it compares outcomes of similar firms receiving aid ...

Start of the new research project Wärme-ZIEL

On November 1, 2025, the project “Implementing the local heating transition: Future initiatives for the energy transition in Lüneburg (Wärme-ZIEL)” was launched at DIW Berlin. Over the next two years, the project will explore practical strategies to support the transition toward a climate-neutral heat supply in the Lüneburg region. Its goal is to accelerate the implementation of municipal heat plans, ...

Implementing the local heating transition: Future initiatives for the energy transition in Lüneburg (Wärme-ZIEL)

The project “Implementing the local heating transition: Future initiatives for the energy transition in Lüneburg (Wärme-ZIEL)” investigates feasible strategies to support the shift toward a climate-neutral heat supply in the Lüneburg region. The goal is to accelerate the implementation of municipal heat plans, gather feedback from local stakeholders, and develop recommendations and strategies that...

Mothers’ Living Conditions Shape Health and Early Development, While Refugee Experience Has Little Impact

Around 200,000 children were born to refugees in Germany between 2014 and 2022. This Weekly Report investigates how the health and development of children born in Germany to refugees are affected by their parent’s experience of being a refugee. An analysis using representative data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and data from the IAB-BAMFSOEP Survey of Refugees shows that there are no significant ...

Less Meat on the Table: Findings from the German Socio-Economic Panel 2016–2022

Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this article investigates the recent development of meat consumption in Germany and selected socio-demographic determinants of meat-related dietary habits. In line with official data, the SOEP shows a downward trend in the frequency of meat consumption and an upward trend in self-reported vegetarianism for 2016–2022. Women, the better educated, singles, ...

Hegemony and International Alignment

This article explores the interplay between economic hegemony and political alignment. Using theoretical and empirical insights from Broner et al. (2024), we posit that hegemonic states, like the United States, foster political alignment, which enhances globalization. We use UN voting data to proxy for international alignment and show that hegemons induce alignment. These data have shortcomings, however. ...

Unequal Returns? Wealth and Debt Gradients in Health Among Immigrants and Natives in Norway

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is positively associated with health, but these benefits are not equally shared across groups. The Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework posits that marginalized groups derive weaker health returns from economic resources than majority populations. Extending this framework to a migration context, this study examines wealth - and debt – health gradients ...

Fiscal Policy, Debt, and Inequality

This one-day conference brings together leading researchers and policymakers to discuss the interactions between fiscal policy, public debt, monetary transmission, innovation, and inequality. The program features research presentations, panel discussions, and opportunities for exchange across academia and policy institutions.

Decline in Job Satisfaction and How It Relates to Investment Decisions of the Self-Employed

Despite substantial research on job satisfaction in self-employment, we know little about the specific consequences for the venture when job satisfaction declines after an external shock. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of an external shock and drawing on a sample of nearly 7000 self-employed individuals living in Germany, we investigate how declines in job satisfaction are related to the ...