Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Your Spouse Is Fired! How Much Do You Care?

This study is the first to provide a causal estimate of the subjective well-being effects of spousal unemployment at the couple level. Using German panel data on married and cohabiting partners for 1991-2013 and information on exogenous job termination induced by workplace closure, we show that spousal unemployment reduces the life satisfaction of indirectly-affected spouses. The impact is equally ...

German study finds happiness is based on choices, not genes

Labour Market Outcomes of Spatially Mobile Coupled Women: Why is the locational context important?

Previous research on the labour market outcomes of spatially mobile couples has shown that mobility has serious detrimental effects on the employment situation of women. This has been largely attributed to their prevalence as secondary earners playing a minor role in job-related mobility decisions of the household. Yet the impact of regional opportunity structures in determining labour market outcomes ...

Smaller Differences in Bigger Cities? Assessing the Regional Dimension of the Gender Wage Gap

Although structural determinants have been emphasized for explaining wage differences between men and women, the role of regional opportunity structures still warrants research. This investigation focuses on the relevance of urban labour markets and agglomeration effects for the spatial variation in the gender wage gap and provides comprehensive insights into the underlying mechanisms by combining ...

Explaining Gender Inequalities That Follow Couple Migration

By exploiting the unique social and economic differences between East and West Germany, the authors investigated how macro-level opportunities interact with couple-level decision making to explain gender differences in the determinants and economic outcomes of household migration. By incorporating regional socioeconomic conditions into household bargaining theory, 4 hypotheses for each region were ...

Economic inequality, poverty, and social exclusion

Ireland's Income Distribution in Comparative Perspective

On the Multidimensionality of Poverty and Social Exclusion

Subjective Well-Being in Germany: Evolutions, Determinants and Policy Implications (Chapter 5)

Consumption expenditures and subjective well-being: empirical evidence from Germany

The standard of living of persons and households is not only a matter of income, but ultimately depends on the level and quality of their consumption in terms of goods and services purchased. Consumption expenditures can be regarded as the result of decisions based on the demand, preferences and limited economic resources, and are thus manifestations not only of different lifestyles, but also of inequality, ...