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From workers to capitalists in less than two generations: A study of Chinese urban elite transformation between 1988 and 2013

Economic and social transformation of China during the past 40 years is without precedent in human history. While the economic transformation was extensively studied, social transformation was not. In this paper, we use for the first time harmonized household surveys covering the period 1988-2013 to study the changes in the characteristics of the richest 5 percent of China&rsquo...

The Effect of a Leniency Rule on Cartel Formation and Stability: Experiments with Open Communication

Cartels can severely harm social welfare. Competition authorities introduced leniency rules to destabilize existing cartels and hinder the formation of new ones. Empirically, it is difficult to judge the success of these measures because functioning cartels are unobservable. Existing experimental studies confirm that a leniency rule indeed reduces cartelization. We extend these studies by having a ...

What Makes an Employer?

As the policy debate on entrepreneurship increasingly centers on firm growth in terms of job creation, it is important to better understand which variables influence the first hiring decision and which ones influence the subsequent survival as an employer. Using the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP), we analyze what role individual characteristics of entrepreneurs play in sustainable job creation. ...

Do Benefits from Dynamic Tariffing Rise? Welfare Effects of Real-Time Retail Pricing Under Carbon Taxation and Variable Renewable Electricity Supply

We analyze the gross welfare gains from real-time retail pricing in electricity markets where carbon taxation induces investment in variable renewable technologies. Applying a stylized numerical electricity market model, we find a U-shaped association between carbon taxation and gross welfare gains. The benefits of introducing real-time pricing can accordingly be relatively low at relatively high carbon ...

Lessons from Germany's Hard Coal Mining Phase-Out: Policies and Transition from 1950 to 2018

German hard coal production ended in 2018, following the termination of subsidies. This paper looks at 60 years of continuous decline of an industry that employed more than 600,000 people, through a case study comparing Germany’s two largest hard coal mining areas (Ruhr area and Saarland). Although predominantly economic drivers underlay the transitions, both provide valuable lessons for upcoming coal ...

Financial Education in Schools: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies

We study the literature on school financial education programs for children and youth via a quantitative meta-analysis of 37 (quasi-) experiments. We find that financial education treatments have, on average, sizeable impacts on financial knowledge (+0.33 SD), similar to educational interventions in other domains. Additionally, we document smaller effects on financial behaviors among students (+0.07 ...

Immigration and the Evolution of Local Cultural Norms

We study the local evolution of cultural norms in West Germany in reaction to the sudden presence of East Germans who migrated to the West after reunification. These migrants grew up with very high rates of maternal employment, whereas West German families followed the traditional breadwinner-housewife model. We find that West German women increase their labor supply and that this holds within household. ...

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Martin Gerike receives national FAMS trainee award

Martin Gerike, who recently completed his training as a Specialist in Market and Social Research (FAMS) at the SOEP, was selected by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) as the best in his graduating class of a total of 67 FAMS across Germany. He was awarded this distinction at a national awards ceremony at the Maritim Hotel Berlin on December 9. Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek ...

The German Data Forum (RatSWD) calls for adaptation of the German national roadmap process to increase participation of social, behavioral, and economic researchers

To foster cutting-edge scientific research in Germany, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research provides funding to outstanding research infrastructures through its national roadmap, a detailed plan mapping out their long-term development.  A working group of the German Data Forum headed by former SOEP Director Jürgen Schupp has released a set of recommendations for adapting ...