Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Markov Chain Monte Carlo Analysis of Underreported Count Data With an Application to Worker Absenteeism

A new approach for modeling under-reported Poisson counts is developed. The parameters of the model are estimated by Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. An application to workers absenteeism data from the German Socio-Economic Panel illustrates the fruitfulness of the approach. Worker absenteeism and the level of pay are unrelated, but absence rates increase with firm size.

Training, Earnings and Mobility in Germany

Unskilled labor and wage determination: An empirical investigation for Germany

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on native wage impacts of immigration. I propose a mobile-fixed factor distinction as a framework in which to think about the differential impact of immigration on various labor market groups. Skilled workers are treated as a fixed factor of production since the strong reliance on skill certification in Germany inhibits mobility and shelters from competition. ...

Econometric Analysis of Count Data. Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition

How young workers get their training - A survey of Germany versus the United States

The recent economic literature on the incidence of various forms of post-secondary on-the-job and off-the-job training in Germany and the United States, as well as on the effects of training on wages, inequality, and labor mobility is surveyed. Young workers in Germany receive substantially more company-based (apprenticeship) training than United States workers. In the United States, high turnover ...

Wages, firm size and absenteeism

Parental health and child behavior: evidence from parental health shocks

This study examines the importance of parental health in the development of child behavior during early childhood. Our analysis is based on child psychometric measures from a longitudinal German dataset, which tracks mothers and their newborns up to age six. We identify major changes in parental health (shocks) and control for a variety of initial characteristics of the child including prenatal conditions. ...

Exploring the possibilities and boundaries of survey data for the analysis of wealth and wealth transfers

In Germany, a flagrant lack of official register or tax data for scholarly use leads to a situation wherein survey data is the last remaining source of evidence about the distribution of wealth. Two of the four research chapters in this thesis aim to evaluate methods for the improvement of available survey data. The other two contributions discuss the possibilities and limitations of survey data for ...

Significant Statistical Uncertainty over Share of High Net Worth Households

The analyses of wealth inequality based on survey data usually suffer from undercoverage of the upper percentiles of the very wealthy. Yet given this group’s substantial share of total net worth, it is of particular relevance. As no tax data are available in Germany, the largest fortunes can only be simulated using “rich lists.” For example, combining the Forbes list, with its approximately 50 German ...

Longitudinal Wealth Data and Multiple Imputation: An Evaluation Study

Statistical analysis in surveys is generally facing missing data. In longitudinal studies for some missing values there might be past or future data points available. The question arises how to successfully transform this advantage into improved imputation strategies. In a simulation study the authors compare six combinations of cross-sectional and longitudinal imputation strategies for German wealth ...