Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

A penalized spline estimator for fixed effects panel data models

Estimating nonlinear effects of continuous covariates by penalized splines is well established for regressions with cross-sectional data as well as for panel data regressions with random effects. Penalized splines are particularly advantageous since they enable both the estimation of unknown nonlinear covariate effects and inferential statements about these effects. The latter are based, for example, ...

The effects of the first birth timing on women's wages: A longitudinal analysis based on the German Socio-Economic Panel

While the wage effects of a birth, the so-called “motherhood wage gap”, have already been analyzed in more detail, studies exploring the timing of this life event still tend to be rare. Moreover, the large majority of existing evidence on this topic is based on data from the United States. Research using other data sources, for example research based on German data, is almost completely missing. By ...

Continuous and Transitory. Part-Time Work in West Germany

Marriage, adaptation and happiness: Are there long-lasting gains to marriage?

This paper uses 23 waves of German panel data and investigates if individuals who decide to marry become permanently happier. Following the same persons over several years we show that they do, thereby challenging a number of recent longitudinal studies in psychology and economics which suggest that individuals fully adapt to the positive impact of marriage. Further, we compare different empirical ...

Executive Seminar. Poverty and Income Security Among Older Persons. Overview of Proceedings

Health Effects of Instruction Intensity: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in German High-Schools

A large literature aims to establish a causal link between education and health using changes in compulsory schooling laws. It is however unclear how well more education is operationalized by marginal increases in school years. We shed a new light on this discussion by analyzing the health effects of a reform in Germany where total years of schooling for students in the academic track were reduced ...

The Role of Firm Pensions for Job Change in Germany

Occupational Pensions, Wages, and Job Mobility in Germany

Youth’s Causal Beliefs About Success: Socioeconomic Differences and Prediction of Early Career Development

Youth’s career attainment is associated with socioeconomic background, but may also be related to their beliefs about causes of success. Relationships between 17-year-olds’ socioeconomic status (SES) and causal beliefs about success, and whether these beliefs predict career attainment after completing a vocational or university degree were examined using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study ...

Private Spending on Children’s Education: Low-Income Families Pay Relatively More

Education is not financed solely by the taxpayer— many institutions and activities require payment of top-up fees, at the very least, this applies for instance to education and care services for children. A household’s private expenditure on education depends largely on the families’ available financial resources. However, to date, very little research has been conducted on the relationship between ...