Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Non-cognitive Skills and the Quality of Early Education: Four Essays in Applied Microeconomics

This dissertation consists of four independent chapters which contribute to the economic analysis of non-cognitive skills and the quality of education. These chapters are preceded by a comprehensive introduction that motivates the individual research questions and indicates common and complementary contributions of the four main chapters. The chapters are followed by a conclusion that discusses potential ...

The Effects of a Parenting Program on Maternal Well-Being: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

This paper evaluates how a light-touch parenting program for parents of children below school entry age affects maternal family well-being. We analyze data from a randomized controlled trial focusing on non-disadvantaged parents. Overall, results show no short-term effects but a relatively large positive effect of the intervention on maternal family well-being in the medium term. With a 20- to 30-percent ...

From German Internet Panel to Mannheim Corona Study: Adaptable probability-based online panel infrastructures during the pandemic

The outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked a sudden demand for fast, frequent and accurate data on the societal impact of the pandemic. This demand has highlighted a divide in survey data collection: Most probability-based social surveys, which can deliver the necessary data quality to allow valid inference to the general population, are slow, infrequent and ill-equipped to survey people during a lockdown. ...

The effect of unemployment on couples separating in Germany and the UK

Objective: This article examines how unemployment affects the separation risk of heterosexual coresiding couples, depending on couples' household income and whether men or women become unemployed. Background: Unemployment may decrease the separation risk as a drop in resources makes separation more costly—or it may increase the separation risk if unemployment creates stress and reduces the quality ...

Regional borders, local unemployment, and life satisfaction

In this paper, we provide novel evidence on the effect of local unemployment rate on life satisfaction. With this, we contribute to the expanding literature that aims to understand the role of the local labor market's conditions for individual well-being. This information can be used to only analyze the impact of regional economic policies, as well as to understand individuals' behavior and ...

Does Grandparenting Pay off for the Next Generations? Intergenerational Effects of Grandparental Care

Grandparents act as the third largest caregiver after parental care and daycare in Germany, as in many Western societies. Adopting a double-generation perspective, we investigate the causal impact of this care mode on children's health, socio-emotional behavior, and school outcomes, as well as parental well-being. Based on representative German panel data sets, and exploiting arguably exogenous ...

Born in the land of milk and honey: Hometown growth and individual wealth accumulation

How does economic growth affect the distribution of wealth? Combining wealth records from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and local GDP growth across 401 German counties, this paper documents a sizable Hometown-Growth-Wealth Nexus. Using a standard OLG model to guide our estimation strategy, we find that, because of hometown growth, a person born in flourishing Munich will have accumulated two to three ...

Educational Choices in Germany: Empirical Essays in the Economics of Education

How is the way we spend our time related to psychological wellbeing? A cross-sectional analysis of time-use patterns in the general population and their associations with wellbeing and life satisfaction

Background: Time-use surveys can closely monitor daily activities, times of stress and relaxation, and examine predictors and trajectories with regard to health. However, previous studies have often neglected the complex interaction of daily activities when looking at health outcomes. Methods: Using latent profile analysis, this study examined patterns of self-reported daily time use (0–12h hours) ...

Gender and Educational Inequalities in Extending Working Lives: Late-Life Employment Trajectories Across Three Decades in Seven Countries

Public policies encourage later retirement, but they often do not account for discrepancies in the capacity for extending working lives. This paper studies trends and inequalities in extending working lives between 1990 and 2019 from gender and education perspectives in seven countries (Australia, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States). The three-decade-long data ...