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Wealth and Family Formation: Insights from First Cohabitation, Marriage, and Birth in Germany

Existing research has demonstrated that wealthier individuals differ in family formation. Potential explanations draw on wealth’s use and symbolic value as well as the relative economic bar of family formation. This study examines the relationship between wealth and three family formation events in Germany: first cohabitation, marriage, and birth. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002–2017) ...

Addressing the Weaknesses of the EU Economy through Competitionand Industrial Policy

The European Union's economy is at a crossroads, facing challenges that threaten its competitiveness, long-term growth, and security. Despite a strong industrial base and high potential in innovation-driven sectors, the EU has yet to fully capitalise on its strengths.

Tariff Chaos Overshadowing the Global Economy; Fiscal Package Bolstering the German Economy

Despite a strong start to 2025, the German economy will experience middling growth for the time being before beginning a long-awaited upturn at the end of the year. DIW Berlin’s forecast indicates growth of 0.3 percent for 2025 and of 1.7 percent for 2026; thus, DIW Berlin is increasing its forecast significantly. Expansionary fiscal policy is counteracting the effects of higher tariffs. From 2026 ...

German economy returning to growth path

Scientific Workshop on Productivity

The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the German Council of Economic Experts (SVR Wirtschaft), in its role as the German National Productivity Board, are jointly organizing the third Scientific Workshop on Productivity, which will take place on 25 and 26 September 2025. The event offers researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their recent contributions to the...

Divorce as a Liberation from Violence: The Role of Legal Protections and Women’s Shelters

Does increased legal infrastructure empower victims to leave abusive relationships? Structural barriers often prevent victims of intimate partner violence from seeking help and leaving their abuser, with two-thirds of female victims in Europe neither reporting incidents to the police nor accessing support services. I study the introduction of the 2002 Violence Protection Act in Germany, which...

Basic Income and Labor Supply: Evidence from an RCT in Germany

How does basic income (a regular, unconditional, guaranteed cash transfer) impact labor supply? We show that in search models of the labor market with income effects, this impact is theoretically ambiguous: Employment and job durations might increase or decrease, match surplus might be shifted to workers or employers, and worker surplus might be reallocated between wages and job amenities. We thus ...

SFB/Transregio 190: Rationality and Competition: The Economic Performance of Individuals and Firms Project A02: Biased beliefs in dynamic decisions: Extensions to policy and communication

The Collaborative Research Center Transregio “Rationality and Competition” combines the research programs of behavioral and neoclassical economists to study applied economic questions that are of high policy relevance. The focus CRC TRR 190 is on the economic behavior and performance of individuals and firms: How do systematic biases in expectations, decision processes, and preferences affect the...

SOEP-Core-Daten 1984–2023 (v40) ab jetzt erhältlich 

All registered data users can now order the latest data v40 (DOI: 10.5684/soep.core.v40eu) via our online order form. In German: http://www.diw.de/SOEPbestellungIn English: http://www.diw.de/SOEPorder Important news for v40: New samples: With the migration sample M8c and the refugee sample M9, two new samples were added to the SOEP data in cooperation with IAB and BAMF. Several data set errors ...

New Dataset: SOEP-Core Data 1984-2023 (v40) available now

All registered data users can now order the latest data v40 (DOI: 10.5684/soep.core.v40eu) via our online order form. In German: http://www.diw.de/SOEPbestellungIn English: http://www.diw.de/SOEPorder Important news for v40: New samples: With the migration sample M8c and the refugee sample M9, two new samples were added to the SOEP data in cooperation with IAB and BAMF. Several data set errors ...