Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

The impact of family structure during childhood on later-life attainment

Childhood family structure and schooling outcomes: Evidence for Germany

We analyze the impact on schooling outcomes of growing up in a non-intact family in Germany. We find that this experience is associated with worse outcomes according to estimates from models that do not control for possible correlations between common unobserved determinants of family structure and educational performance. Evidence of adverse effects emerges also when endogeneity is accounted for. ...

The Effect of Lone Motherhood on the Smoking Behaviour of Young Adults

We provide evidence that living with an unmarried mother during childhood raises smoking propensities for young adults in Germany.

Who turned their back on the SPD? - Electoral disaffection with the German Social Democratic Party and the Hartz reforms

This paper proposes an empirical analysis of the declining support for the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) during Schröder government’s second term of office, which was marked by major reforms in the fields of unemployment insurance and labour market policy (Hartz reforms). Drawing on a panel of West Germans, we provide evidence that this disaffection was strongly related to a worker’s occupation ...

Maternity Leave and its Consequences for Subsequent Careers in Germany

Subject of this paper is the investigation of wage developments of women interrupting their careers for giving birth to children in comparison to men's wages not facing a parental interruption. We estimate OLS regression models for different subcategories defined by age and point in time. We use data from the German Socioeconomic Panel from 1984 to 2011 to show the importance of legal job protection ...

Young and Out in Germany (On Youths? Chances of Labor Market Entrance in Germany)

Wages in the East German Transition Process - Facts and Explanations

We analyze wage developments in the East German transition process both at the macro and at the microeconomic level. At the macroeconomic level, we draw special attention to the important distinction between product and consumption wages, describe the development of various wage measures, labor productivity and unit labor costs in East Germany in relation to West Germany, and relate these developments ...

The Relation between Divorce and Wealth (Dissertation)

The impact of household capital income on income inequality - a factor decomposition analysis for the UK, Germany and the USA

This paper analyses the contribution of capital income to income inequality in a cross-national comparison. Using micro-data from the Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) for three prominent panel studies, namely the BHPS for the UK, the SOEP for West Germany, and the PSID for the USA, we use the factor decomposition method described by Shorrocks (Econometrica 50:193–211, 1982). The factor decomposition ...

Integrating Refugees: A Long-Term, Worthwhile Investment

The debate about the massive influx of refugees into Germany often focuses solely on the short-term costs. But while these expenditures are bound to be substantial inthe coming years, the discussion neglects the long-term economic potential of a successful integration of refugees—often, young people—which can transform the initial expenditure into a worthwhile investment. Even if many of the refugees’ ...