Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Educational Qualifications and Wage Inequality: Evidence for Europe

Experimental and Survey Evidence on the Development of Preferences and Skills (dissertation)

The focus of this research is on decisions related to human capital formation and preferences crucial for social interaction. These decisions are analyzed at different stages of the life-cycle, starting with other-regarding preferences in preschoolers, followed by skill formation in adolescents and preferences for honesty in adults. Answering the questions on skill formation and human capital accumulation ...

Is it the family or the neighborhood? Evidence from sibling and neighbor correlations in youth education and health

In this paper, we present sibling and neighbor correlations in school grades and cognitive skills, as well as indicators of physical and mental health, for a sample of German adolescents. In a first step, we estimate sibling correlations and find a substantial influence of shared family and community background on all outcomes. To further disentangle the influence of family background and neighborhood, ...

Spite and cognitive skills in preschoolers

Other-regarding preferences in adults have been examined in depth in the literature. Research has shown that spiteful preferences play a crucial role in the development of human large-scale cooperation. However, there is little evidence of the factors explaining spiteful behavior in children. We investigate the relationship between children’s cognitive skills and spiteful behavior in a sample of 214 ...

Law and social capital: Evidence from the Code Napoleon in Germany

I test whether legal institutions crowd-in social cooperation in the long-run, using the introduction of the Code Napoleon in parts of 19th century Germany as a historical experiment. I find that the application of the Code Napoleon is associated with higher levels of trust and cooperation today. This finding is robust to an identification strategy that uses only individuals located around a discontinuity ...

Revisiting Rebound Effects from Material Resource Use. Indications for Germany Considering Social Heterogeneity

In contrast to the original investigation by William Stanley Jevons, compensations of energy savings due to improved energy efficiency are mostly analyzed by providing energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions. In support of a sustainable resource management, this paper analyzes so-called rebound effects based on resource use. Material flows and associated expenditures by households allow for ...

Rating Agencies – An Experimental Analysis of Their Remuneration Model

Does it matter who pays for ratings? Yes, but not for the rating agencies’ behavior. These are the findings of our experiment where we analyze the effect of the remuneration model of rating agencies on their assessments as well as on investors’ and issuers’ behavior. First, we find that rating agencies’ assessments are comparable whether the agency is (partially) paid by issuers, investors or solely ...

The impact of psychological traits on performance in sequential tournaments: Evidence from a tennis field experiment

In order to analyze if heterogeneity in psychological traits affects individual performance in sequential tournaments, we conducted a tennis field experiment. In the experiment, we also varied the payment schemes (individual, team, competition) to control for moderating effects of different incentives. Team incentives, risk taking, and self-esteem reduced performance whereas a preference towards competition ...

Panel estimates of the wage penalty for maternal leave

The focus of this paper is the size of the wage penalty due to maternal leave incurred by working mothers in Germany. Existing estimates suggest large penalties with little rebound over time. We apply recent panel data methods designed to address problems of sample selectivity, unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity to German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) data. Heckman's classic treatment of ...

Determinants of Occupational Gender Segregation: Work Values and Gender (A)Typical Occupational Preferences of Adolescents

The study examines micro-level determinants of the occupational gender segregation, analyzing work values and their effects on gender (a)typical occupational preferences of adolescents. Human capital theory assumes that women develop higher preferences for a good work/life-balance in youth, whereas men develop higher extrinsic work values. Socialization theory predicts that female adolescents form ...