Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Central School Exit Exams and Labor-Market Outcomes

Many countries use centralized exit exams as a governance devise of the school system. While abundant evidence suggests positive effects of central exams on achievement tests, previous research on university-bound students shows no effects on subsequent earnings. We suggest that labor-market effects may be more imminent for students leaving school directly for the labor market and, on rigid labor markets, ...

Zukunftsangst! Fear of (and hope for) the future and its impact on life satisfaction

The thoughts that an individual has about the future contribute substantially to their life satisfaction in a positive or negative direction. This is a result found via five different methods, some of which control for personality and disposition and the potential endogeneity of thoughts and life satisfaction. The reduction in life satisfaction experienced by individuals who report being pessimistic ...

Optimism, Pessimism and Life Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation

This empirical investigation into life satisfaction, using nationally representative German panel data, finds a substantial association with an individual’s thoughts about the future, whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about it. Furthermore, including individuals’ optimism and pessimism about the future substantially increases the explanatory power of standard life satisfaction models. The ...

She's Leaving Home: A Large Sample Investigation of the Empty Nest Syndrome

This study considers life satisfaction in relation to the empty nest syndrome, which is a situation where there are feelings of loss or loneliness for mothers and/or fathers following the departure of the last child from the parental home. In particular, the investigation considers the significance of Identity Economics when applied to parents experiencing a reduction in well-being following an extended ...

Sleep Duration and Life Satisfaction

Sleep is an important part of life. Despite this importance, little is known about life satisfaction and sleep duration. Using German panel data, it is shown that sleep is an important factor for life satisfaction and, furthermore, that maximal life satisfaction is associated with about 8 h of sleep on a typical weekday. This figure represents, on average, one hour more than people currently sleep ...

GEE estimation of the covariance structure of a bivariate panel data model with an application to wage dynamics and the incidence of profit-sharing in West Germany

We propose a generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach to the estimation of the mean and covariance structure of bivariate time series processes of panel data. The one-step approach allows for mixed continuous and discrete dependent variables. A Monte Carlo Study is presented to compare our particular GEE estimator with more standard GEE-estimators. In the empirical illustration, we apply our ...

Overtime Reductions - Negligible Employment Effects

One of the central bones of contention in the current 'Alliance for Jobs' negotiations is the reduction of overtime and its potential employment effects. While the unions see overtime reductions as a possible means to increase employment, employers are sceptical about the idea, because they fear constraints on their flexibility in the use of labour. Around 1.8 billion paid overtime hours ...

Overtime Work, Overtime Compensation and the Distribution of Economic Well-Being - Evidence for West Germany and Great Britain

Risk Selection under Public Health Insurance with Opt-Out

This paper studies risk selection between public and private health insurance when some, but not all, individuals can opt out of otherwise mandatory public insurance. Using a theoretical model, I show that public insurance is adversely selected when insurers and insureds are symmetrically informed about health-related risks, and that there can be adverse or advantageous selection when insureds are ...

Three essays in health economics

Expenditures for health care and health insurance have increased rapidly over the last several decades. This thesis is composed of three essays that analyze markets for health care and health insurance, respectively. Chapter 1 studies risk selection between public and private health insurance when some, but not all, individuals can opt out of otherwise mandatory public insurance. Using a theoretical ...