Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Unhealthy Conditions? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Health of Children in One- and Two-parent Households

Families produce health, but changes in familial structures are made responsible for many negative health trends in the population. How does the health of younger children today in Germany develop when comparing whether the parents live together or separately? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), we are able to show that children in traditional marriages are not generally healthier ...

Happy Newcomers? Subjective Well-Being of First-Generation Immigrants in Germany

First-generation immigrants in Germany are surprisingly satisfied with their life. We test to what extent selection, adaptation, or resilience explains their comparatively high level of subjective well-being (SWB). Using Panel data from 1984-2014, we run simultaneous probit and growth curve models and identify competing mechanisms of positive integration. We find mixed evidence for health selection: ...

Love and Death in Germany: The Marital Biography and Its Effect on Mortality

Why Managerial Women are Less Happy Than Managerial Men

Women with managerial careers are significantly less satisfied with their life than their male counterparts. Why? In a representative German panel dataset (GSOEP) we find biological constraints and substitutive mechanisms determining the subjective well-being of female managers. Women’s terminated fertility has a negative impact on women’s life satisfaction between the ages of 35 and 45, when managerial ...

Income packages of households with children: a cross-national correlation analysis

This paper presents stylized facts about household disposable income and its components (the ‘income package’) in ten OECD countries, using data from the Luxembourg Income Study database for the period 1994–2000. The research design is an extension of the design in Todd and Sullivan (2002). Cross-national correlations reveal that there are systematic differences among nations in the relationship between ...

The Vast Majority of Employees in Germany Are Satisfied with Their Jobs

The vast majority of workers rate their professional occupations positively; only one in eight is unhappy with his or her job. This has been the case for the past 20 years. There is little difference in the degree of satisfaction between genders, workers in West Germany and East Germany, or among different age groups. Even the level of compensation and the nature of the work itself do not exert any ...

Home Offices: Plenty of Untapped Potential

As far as the share of individuals with a home office is concerned, Germany is below the EU average and lags considerably behind other countries such as France, the UK, or the Scandinavian countries. Only 12 percent of all employees in Germany work primarily or occasionally from home, although this would theoretically be possible in 40 percent of jobs. In most cases, an employee’s desire to work from ...

Hourly Wages in Lower Deciles No Longer Lagging behind When It Comes to Wage Growth

For many years, only better-paid workers benefited from Germany’s real wage increases. In contrast, dependent employees with lower hourly wages suffered substantial losses, while the low-wage sector expanded. Around 2010, these trends came to an end. Now all wage groups benefit from wage increases—even if those in the middle of the distribution lag somewhat behind. At the very least, this new pattern ...

The Soccer World Cup in Germany: A Major Sporting and Cultural Event - But Without Notable Business Cycle Effects

Demographic Change Necessitates Educational Reform and Lifelong Learning