Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Evidence on performance pay and risk aversion

Making use of a unique representative data set, we find clear evidence that risk aversion has a highly significant and substantial negative impact on the probability that an employee's pay is performance contingent, which confirms the well known risk-incentive trade-off.

Works Councils and Performance Appraisals

Drawing on two large German representative data sets, we analyze the role of works councils for the use of performance appraisals (PA). We distinguish between the incidence of performance appraisal systems as intended by the firm and their actual implementation on the level of the individual employee. We find that works councils tend to promote rather than restrict PA. Employees working in establishments ...

The Role of Contract Types for Employees’ Public Service Motivation

The intention of “doing good for society” is regarded to be a crucial motivator for employees in the public sector in order for them to perform well. Recent research in the public sector literature calls for a deeper understanding of how this specific public service motivation (PSM) is shaped. In our paper, we analyze how different degrees of inclusion in the public sector matter for PSM. We investigate ...

Why is the share of women willing to work in East Germany larger than in West Germany? A logit model of extensive labour supply decision

The aim of the paper is to analyse differences in the labour force participation (LFP) between East and West German women. Using microcensus data in a binary choice model, we distinguish three main explanations for these differences: the skill composition, the regional labour market and childcare availability. As LFP in-creases in the skill-level, the larger share of high-skilled women in East Germany ...

Is There a Causal Effect of Working Part-Time on Current and Future Wages?

In this paper, I study the causal effects of part-time work on current and future wages. To estimate these effects, I use a random effects model with a wage equation capturing the employment history and a dynamic multinomial probit component for the choice of employment status. Exclusion restrictions from the institutional context are exploited to support identification. The results suggest that working ...

The effects of taxes and benefits on income distribution in the enlarged EU

Tax and benefit systems in the enlarged EU vary significantly in size and structure. We examine how taxes and benefits shape income distributions in 19 EU countries, focusing on the differences between Western European countries (EU15) and Eastern European countries (Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia). We use EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model, which simulates taxes and benefits ...

The Effect of Taxes and Benefits on Income Distribution (Chapter 7)

Effects of Flat Tax Reforms in Western Europe

Recent success of the flat income tax in Eastern Europe raises questions about whether there is scope for such a policy reform in Western Europe as well. We address this by estimating the potential distributional impact of various flat taxes for selected Western European countries. Our simulations show that in specific circumstances a revenue neutral flat tax reform can increase income equality and ...

Inequality neutral flat tax reforms in Europe: differences between East and West

The flat tax idea is becoming increasingly popular, especially in transition countries in Eastern Europe. The introduction of a flat tax is supposed to have several advantages. However, flat taxes can have a serious drawback in terms of their impact on the distribution of tax burdens. The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of flat tax reforms that do not change the inequality of the income ...

The Distributional Impact of In-Kind Public Benefits in European Countries

International comparisons of inequality based on measures of disposable income may not be valid if the size and incidence of publicly-provided in kind benefits differ across the countries considered. The benefits that are financed by taxation in one country may need to be purchased out of disposable income in another. We estimate the size and incidence of in kind or "non cash" benefits from ...