Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Multidimensional Measurement of Richness: Theory and an Application to Germany

Closely following recent innovations in the literature on the multidimensional measurement of poverty, this paper provides similar measures for the top of the distribution using a dual cutoff method to identify individuals, who can be considered as rich in a multidimensional setting. We use this framework to analyze the role of wealth, health and education, in addition to income, as dimensions of multidimensional ...

Multidimensional Affluence: Theory and Applications to Germany and the US

This paper suggests multidimensional affluence measures for the top of the distribution. In contrast to commonly used top income shares, they allow the analysis of the extent, intensity and breadth of affluence in several dimensions within a common framework. We illustrate this by analyzing the role of income and wealth as dimensions of multidimensional well-being in Germany and the US in 2007 as well ...

Multidimensional Well-Being at the Top: Evidence for Germany

This paper employs a multidimensional approach for the measurement of well-being at the top of the distribution using German SOEP micro data. Besides income as traditional indicator for material well-being, we include health as a proxy for nonmaterial quality of life as well as self-reported satisfaction with life as dimensions. We find that one third of the German population is well-off in at least ...

Who delays childbearing? The relationships between fertility, education and personality traits

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, this paper assesses the influence of personality traits on the timing of motherhood and investigates whether, and in what way, personality traits can explain the differences in maternity timing between more and less educated women. We estimate a log-logistic model of the time to first child birth and show that there is a statistically significant ...

Is There a Causal Effect of Working Part-Time on Current and Future Wages?

In this paper, I study the causal effects of part-time work on current and future wages. To estimate these effects, I use a random effects model with a wage equation capturing the employment history and a dynamic multinomial probit component for the choice of employment status. Exclusion restrictions from the institutional context are exploited to support identification. The results suggest that working ...

The effects of taxes and benefits on income distribution in the enlarged EU

Tax and benefit systems in the enlarged EU vary significantly in size and structure. We examine how taxes and benefits shape income distributions in 19 EU countries, focusing on the differences between Western European countries (EU15) and Eastern European countries (Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia). We use EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model, which simulates taxes and benefits ...

The Effect of Taxes and Benefits on Income Distribution (Chapter 7)

Effects of Flat Tax Reforms in Western Europe

Recent success of the flat income tax in Eastern Europe raises questions about whether there is scope for such a policy reform in Western Europe as well. We address this by estimating the potential distributional impact of various flat taxes for selected Western European countries. Our simulations show that in specific circumstances a revenue neutral flat tax reform can increase income equality and ...

Inequality neutral flat tax reforms in Europe: differences between East and West

The flat tax idea is becoming increasingly popular, especially in transition countries in Eastern Europe. The introduction of a flat tax is supposed to have several advantages. However, flat taxes can have a serious drawback in terms of their impact on the distribution of tax burdens. The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of flat tax reforms that do not change the inequality of the income ...

The Distributional Impact of In-Kind Public Benefits in European Countries

International comparisons of inequality based on measures of disposable income may not be valid if the size and incidence of publicly-provided in kind benefits differ across the countries considered. The benefits that are financed by taxation in one country may need to be purchased out of disposable income in another. We estimate the size and incidence of in kind or "non cash" benefits from ...