Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Documentation IZAΨMOD: The IZA Policy SImulation MODel

This paper describes IZAΨMOD, the policy microsimulation model of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). The model uses household microdata from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and firm data from the German linked employer-employee dataset LIAB. IZAΨMOD consists of three components: First, a static module simulates the effects of a tax reform on the budget of the individual households. Secondly, ...

Accounting for Labor Demand Effects in Structural Labor Supply Models

When assessing the effects of policy reforms on the labor market, most studies only focus on labor supply. The interaction of supply and demand side is not explicitly modeled, which might lead to biased estimates of potential labor market outcomes. This paper proposes a straightforward method to remedy this shortcoming. We use information on firms’ labor demand behavior and feed them into a structural ...

Accounting for the Spouse when Measuring Inequality of Opportunity

The existing literature on inequality of opportunity (IOp) has not addressed the question of how the circumstances and choices of spouses in a couple should be treated. By omitting information relevant to the spouse in IOp estimations, the implicit assumption has been full responsibility for the spouse’s income, effort and circumstance variables. In this paper, we discuss whether or not the spouse’s ...

Equality of Opportunity: East vs. West Germany

The case of German reunification has been subject to extensive research on earnings inequality and labour market integration. However, little is known about the development of equality of opportunity (EOp) in East and West Germany after 1990. Using German micro data, we empirically analyse how circumstances beyond the sphere of individual control relate to inequality in East and West Germany. Our results ...

Real Wage Cyclicality in Germany and the UK: New Results Using Panel Data

The European Community Household Panel: A review

Health, aging and retirement in Europe: A cross-country comparison using the CHER data base

Do Marriage and Cohabitation Provide Benefits to Health in Mid-Life? The Role of Childhood Selection Mechanisms and Partnership Characteristics Across Countries

Extensive research has found that marriage provides health benefits to individuals, particularly in the U.S. The rise of cohabitation, however, raises questions about whether simply being in an intimate co-residential partnership conveys the same health benefits as marriage. Here, we use OLS regression to compare differences between partnered and unpartnered, and cohabiting and married individuals ...

Wage changes through job mobility in Europe: A multinomial endogenous switching approach

Inequality in Germany. The Role of Household Context and the Concept of Economic Resources (Dissertation)

Economic inequality has increased considerably in many Western countries and has recently received increasing attention. The gap between rich and poor is now one of the main issues on the policy agendas and is potentially harmful for public welfare when it exceeds a certain threshold. That is why many policy makers are concerned with increasing levels of inequality. Economists should, therefore, provide ...