Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Refugees entered the labor market later than other migrants

It has taken longer for refugees who have been living in Germany for some time, particularly those who arrived between 1990 and 2010, to take up gainful employment than other migrants. These findings are based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample. In addition, these refugees show a higher rate of unemployment and earn lower incomes by comparison even years ...

On the Evolution of Household Income

Also on Sundays, Women Perform Most of the Housework and Child Care

Paid and unpaid work are still distributed very unequally between men and women in Germany. Regardless of time restrictions imposed by gainful employment, there is a gender- specific gap in time spent on housework and child care (gender care gap). The total volume of paid and unpaid work on weekdays is roughly the same for men and women (approx. 11 hours), although women perform more unpaid and men ...

Long-Term Effects of an Extensive Cognitive Training on Personality Development

Abstract Previous research found that cognitive training increases the Big Five personality trait Openness to Experience during and some weeks after the intervention. The present study investigated whether long-term changes happen in Openness to Experience and other personality traits after an extensive cognitive training of memory and perceptual speed. The intervention group consisted of 204 adults ...

Getting Together: Social Contact Frequency Across the Life Span

Frequent social interactions are strongly linked to positive affect, longevity, and good health. Although there has been extensive research on changes in the size of social networks over time, little attention has been given to the development of contact frequency across the life span. In this cohort-sequential longitudinal study, we examined intraindividual changes in the frequency of social contact ...

Return Migration and the "Healthy Immigrant Effect"

Early retirement and inequality in Britain and Germany: How important is health?

Both health and income inequalities have been shown to be much greater in Britain than in Germany. One of the main reasons seems to be the difference in the relative position of the retired, who, in Britain, are much more concentrated in the lower income groups. Inequality analysis reveals that while the distribution of health shocks is more concentrated among those on low incomes in Britain, early ...

Health, retirement and inequality: Can Germany and the UK learn from each other?

This study attempts to understand the effect of health on the decision of older workers to leave the labour market – a decision which is made within the context of the pension and benefit systems of the UK and Germany. The authors found that health is an extremely important factor in the retirement decision for both men and women in the UK and Germany. The effects of poor health seem to be greater ...

Start-Up Grants to Unemployed Immigrants in Germany: A Means to Reach Employment Parity? (Bachelor of Arts in Economics)

Immigrants in Germany exhibit, on average, an increased frequency of unemployment, reduced earnings, and an increased uptake and dependence upon welfare and unemployment benefits relative to native Germans. Although Germany's strong welfare state has shown success in mobilizing the difficult-to-employ in general, it has scarcely focused or targeted its efforts on immigrants despite their prevalence ...

What do Subjective Well-Being Judgments Mean? Sources and Distinctions, Processes and Mechanisms

How do people decide how happy they are? In principle, a number of models are possible and the current chapter highlights three of them. People could subdivide their life into various domains, consider their progress in these domains, and then integrate the results of this bottom-up activity. Alternatively, people could omit such a systematic process and simply base their judgments on whatever information ...