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The Effects of an Increase in the Retirement Age on Health: Evidence from Administrative Data

This study analyzes the causal effect of an increase in the retirement age on health. We exploit a sizable cohort-specific pension reform for women using two complementary empirical approaches - a Regression Discontinuity Design and a Difference-in- Differences approach. The analysis is based on official records covering all individuals insured by the public health system in Germany and including all ...

Grading in Secondary Schools in Germany: The Impact of Social Origin and Gender

In the German school system, grades are the essential means of performance feedback and assignment. However, little research has been conducted on the factors that determine grades in addition to competencies, and existing findings are poorly replicated. Using data from the representative IQB Trends in Student Performance 2015 survey, our analysis combined a variety of personal and structural characteristics ...

COP26 statement on coal exit

As COP26 drew to a close earlier this month, almost 200 nations agreed to “phase down” coal power in the coming years. How this is done, for coal and other fossil fuels, will have implications for individuals and communities that depend on these resources for their livelihoods.  The case study conducted by DIW Berlin focuses on Germany and the efforts it has undertaken to support ...

Antitrust Policy and Innovation

Innovation has recently come to the attention of Antitrust Authorities, even though the effect of mergers on innovation is still hotly debated. I study how the activity of Antitrust Authorities impacts future innovation of merging firms. Exploiting a change in notification rules I build an event study comparing mergers notified to the authorities with non-notified ones. I develop a new methodology...

Infektionsrisiko mit SARS-CoV-2 von Beschäftigten in Gesundheitsberufen während der Pandemie: Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten seroepidemiologischen Studie

Overcoming Barriers to Service Access: Refugees’ Professional Support Service Utilization and the Impact of Human and Social Capital

After arriving in a new country, refugees are most often dependent on professional support to reestablish their livelihood. It is however well documented that refugees face barriers when seeking access to services aimed at facilitating their settlement and integration. This study examines refugees’ support service needs and their actual utilization and investigates the impact of social and human capital ...

A 2050 Perspective on the Role for Carbon Capture and Storage in the European Power System and Industry Sector

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) might be a central technology to reach the decarbonisation goals of the European energy system. However, CCS deployment faces multiple economic, technological, and infrastructure challenges. Related literature tends to only focus on certain aspects of the CCS technology or to be limited to a particular sector perspective. In contrast, this paper presents a holistic ...

Mask wearing, pro-social behavior and wellbeing

Using COME-HERE longitudinal data from 2021, this investigation links mask wearing, prosocial behaviour, and well-being. Given that mask wearing has positive externality properties, wearing one can be seen as pro-social behaviour. Individuals are categorised into three groups based on a comparison between their own mask wearing frequency and what is required by law. Those...

Five new members appointed to the SOEP Survey Committee

At its meeting in early November 2021, the DIW Board of Trustees appointed five new members to the SOEP Survey Committee. In the coming years, they and the rest of the Survey Committee will advise the SOEP team on the content and methodology of the surveys, as well as on SOEP’s research and services. Economist Conchita D’Ambrosio is a professor at the University of Luxembourg. She conducts ...

Public Good Provision and Local Employment: Evidence from Grammar School Closures in East Germany

This paper assesses the impact of public good provision on the spatial distribution of employment as predicted by a local labor market model that allows for commuting. Using local grammar school closures in East Germany after 2000 in a difference-in-differences estimation framework coupled with an entropy balancing strategy, we find that the school closures triggered a decline in the number of (employed) ...