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Flexible Nuclear Power and Fluctuating Renewables? An Analysis for Decarbonized Multi-Vector Energy Systems

Many governments consider new nuclear power plants to promote decarbonization. On the one hand, dispatchable nuclear plants can complement fluctuating generation from wind and PV. On the other hand, escalating construction costs and times raise economic concerns. This paper investigates the economic threshold at which nuclear plants are an efficient decarbonization option. Building on an extensive ...

Essays on Immigration, Population Aging, and Labor Markets

This dissertation comprises four chapters that contribute to the literature on labor economics, with a particular focus on labor market challenges associated with population aging. As demographic change leads to growing labor shortages, two key strategies have emerged to mitigate its effects: increasing immigration and promoting higher labor force participation among older workers. The first two chapters ...

Exploring Integration and Migration Dynamics: The Research Potentials of a Large-Scale Longitudinal Household Study of Refugees in Germany

Forced migration has intensified in the 21st century, driven by conflicts, persecution, and political instability in regions such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America and, most recently, Ukraine. Germany has become a primary destination for refugees within the European Union and one of the largest among the OECD countries. The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey, ...

Nuclear Fission, Natural Gas, Geothermal Energy, Nuclear Fusion: The Future Role of Baseload Power Plants

Education Bias in Probability-Based Surveys in Germany: Evidence and Possible Solutions

This paper outlines two studies on education bias in German probability-based surveys. Study 1 reviews data from 67 surveys across 19 survey programs conducted in Germany from 2000 to 2023. We found a consistent underrepresentation of individuals with a low level of formal education. We also found that the transition to self-administered modes due to rising survey costs may exacerbate this bias in ...

Does the Impact of Pupil Absences on Achievement Depend on Their Timing?

Using linked data from the Millennium Cohort Study and National Pupil Database (N = 8,139), this study examined how the timing of school absences (years 1 to 11 between 2006 and 2017) affects achievement at the end of compulsory schooling in England. Absences during any school year are harmful to student achievement. However, absences in years 1 and 6 (the final year of primary school), and between ...

An Advanced Reliability Reserve Incentivizes Flexibility Investments while Safeguarding the Electricity Market

To ensure security of supply in the power sector, many countries are already using or discussing the introduction of capacity mechanisms. Two main types of such mechanisms include capacity markets and capacity reserves. Simultaneously, the expansion of variable renewable energy sources increases the need for power sector flexibility, for which there are promising yet often under-utilized options on ...

Out for Good: Transitory and Persistent Labor Market Effects of Heterogeneous Health Shocks

We propose a novel method to detect and disentangle moderate and severe health shocks in a general population survey based on a data-driven classification of sickness absences and hospitalizations. Both types of shocks are widespread with an annual incidence of about 1.7%, which rises steeply with age. We estimate the effects of both shocks on labor market outcomes and find that severe shocks have ...

Climate neutrality: Possible, necessary – and often too slow! : The Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin

[English subtitles, German language video] Climate neutrality is possible and necessary—scientists, politicians, and society agree on this. But implementation is stalling. Why? Karsten Neuhoff, Head of the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin, explains in the video: There is a lack of the right policy instruments to make climate-friendly investments attractive. The team analyzes international...

Are M&As Spurring or Stifling Innovation? Evidence from Antidiabetic Drug Development

This paper provides empirical evidence on which M&A deals spur innovation, and which stifle it. To do so, we consider not only the product market position of the acquiring firm, but also the position of both target and acquirer in the technology space. Focusing on the antidiabetic drugs market, our dataset tracks the lifecycle and patenting of all individual antidiabetic projects in development between ...