The central limit theorem says that, provided an estimator fulfills certain weak conditions, then, for reasonable sample sizes, the sampling distribution of the estimator converges to normality. We propose a procedure to find out what a “reasonably large sample size” is. The procedure is based on the properties of Gini’s mean difference decomposition. We show the results of implementations of the procedure ...
This paper presents detailed evidence about who compares to whom in terms of relative income. We rely on representative survey data on the importance of income comparisons vis-a-vis seven reference groups, allowing us to exploit within-subject heterogeneity. We explore the prevalence and determinants of positional income concerns, investigating the role of personality and economic preferences. Our ...
Past studies have found that parental background has a considerable impact on educational decisions. Our knowledge is, however, still limited regarding educational transitions later in life, such as into tertiary education. Is parental background a predominant factor in this relatively late educational decision, or do individual talent and determination have an impact of their own? We address this ...
We analyze a constitutional change in the German State of Bavaria where citizens, not politicians, granted themselves more say in politics at the local level through a constitutional initiative at the state level. This institutional setting allows us to focus on revealed preferences for direct democracy and to identify factors which explain this preference. Empirical results suggests support for direct ...
Starting in January 2015, researchers from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) research infrastructure at DIW Berlin will, together with colleagues from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and the University of Potsdam, be making data available for evaluation of the new statutory minimum wage in Germany. They will not only be analyzing the data themselves but also providing them for ...
We estimate average causal effects of early-life hunger on late-life health by applying instrumental variable estimation, using data with self-reported periods of hunger earlier in life, with famines as instruments. The data contain samples from European countries and include birth cohorts exposed to various famines in the 20th century. We use two-sample IV estimation to deal with imperfect recollection ...
Der Beitrag untersucht auf Basis des SOEP die Entwicklung der Stundenlöhne von abhängig Beschäftigten (einschließlich Teilzeit- und geringfügig Beschäftigten) in Ost- und Westdeutschland zwischen 1992 und 2012. Die Analyse bezieht sich nicht nur auf die mittleren Löhne (Median), sondern auch auf die Entwicklung der Löhne im oberen und unteren Quintil der Stundenlohnverteilung sowie differenziert nach ...
The Systematic Review is an analytical approach to a literature review that aims to identify and structure high quality research evidence relevant to a specific research question. Originally a method from evidence-based medicine, the systematic review is increasingly used across all disciplines. It allows for a rule-governed overview of a research field and even high impact publications. This...
This paper examines the extent to which pre-puberty nutritional conditions in one generation affect productivity-related outcomes in later generations. Recent findings from the biological literature suggest that age 8-12 is a critical period for male germ cell development. We build on this evidence and investigate whether undernutrition at that age biologically transmits to children and grandchildren. ...
