Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Poverty Levels in the Developed World

Time, Money and Inequality in International Perspective

Understanding Growth and Inequality Trend: The Role of Labour Supply in the USA and Germany

Remittances of Guest Workers to their Home Countries: An Econometric Analysis

Emotional Prosperity and the Stiglitz Commission

This paper argues – in line with the proposals of the recent Stiglitz Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress – that we should now be measuring a nation’s emotional prosperity rather than its economic prosperity (that is, we ought to focus on the level of mental well-being not the number of pounds in people’s bank accounts). The paper reviews recent ideas in this field. ...

Book Review Feature: Two Reviews of The Challenge of Affulence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain Since 1950

Is affluence a good thing? The book The Challenge of Affluence by Avner Offer (2006) argues that economic prosperity weakens self-control and undermines human well-being. Consistent with a pessimistic view, we show that psychological distress has been rising through time in modern Great Britain. Taking over-eating as an example, our data reveal that half the British population view themselves as overweight, ...

Obesity, Unhappiness, and The Challenge of Affluence: Theory and Evidence

Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges

disability, adaptation, happiness, legal compensation, Well-being, GHQ

Daughters and Left-Wind Voting

What determines human beings' political preferences? Using nationally representative longitudinal data, we show that having daughters makes people more likely to vote for left-wing parties. Having sons leads people to favor right-wing parties. The paper checks that our result is not an artifact of family stopping rules, discusses the predictions from a simple economic model, and tests for possible ...

Patterns of Labour Market Exit in Germany and the UK

This study gives an overview of the pathways from work to retirement in Britain and Germany. Although the institutional incentives differ considerably, both countries face a trend towards early retirement. In Germany, this development was mostly attributed to the favourable conditions in the social security system. In the UK, the increasing coverage of occupational and private pensions seems to be ...