Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Does Society Influence the Gender Gap in Risk Attitudes? Evidence from East and West Germany

Previous international research has shown that women are more risk averse than men. This gives rise to the question whether the gender gap in risk attitudes is shaped by the social environment. We address this question by examining risk attitudes among East and West Germans. Originated from different family policies during Germany’s separation, East Germans have more equal gender roles than West Germans. ...

Out-Of-Partnership Births in East and West Germany

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that single women in East Germany are significantly more likely to give birth to a child than single women in West Germany. This applies to both planned and unplanned births. Our analysis provides no evidence that the difference between East and West Germany can be explained by economic factors or the higher availability of child care ...

Reciprocity and Workers’ Tastes for Representation

Using unique survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study examines the influence of reciprocal inclinations on workers’ sorting into codetermined firms. Employees with strong negative reciprocal inclinations are more likely to work in firms with a works council while employees with strong positive reciprocal inclinations are less likely to work in such firms. We argue that these findings ...

Single Motherhood in East and West Germany: What Can Explain the Differences?

The share of single mothers is higher in East Germany than in West Germany. Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we examine two transmission channels leading to single motherhood, namely out-of-partnership births and separations of couples with minor children. Women in East Germany have both a higher probability of out-of-partnership birth and a higher probability of separation. We find ...

Risk Attitude and Nonmarital Birth

Using data of adult women from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find that risk tolerance is associated with a higher probability of an out-of-partnership birth. In contrast, we find no association between risk tolerance and the probability of a cohabiting birth.

Gender-job satisfaction differences across Europe: An indicator for labor market modernization

Job Satisfaction and Public Service Motivation

Based on a unique case study-dataset, the paper analyses job satisfaction and public service motivation in Germany. A special issue of the investigation is related to the evaluation of performance pay scales that were introduced some years ago to German public employees within the frame of fostering New Public Management. The findings display a general dominance of intrinsic motivators. Additionally, ...

Exits from Unemployment Spells in Germany and the United Kingdom: A Cross-National Comparison based on institutional background information and the Use of Panel-Data (1990-1996)

Smoking and the Business Cycle: Evidence from Germany

In this paper, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to investigate the effect on cigarette consumption of macro-economic conditions in the form of regional unemployment rates. The results from our panel data models, several of which control for selection bias, indicate that the propensity to become a smoker increases significantly during an economic downturn, with an approximately 0.7 percentage ...

Socioeconomic status, parenting and conscientiousness: the unequal development of children's focus

Conscientiousness is one of the most relevant personality traits for success across the life course. According to recent studies, facets of Conscientiousness have different relevance in different contexts. One of these facets, Focus, has proved to be important in the context of learning and education, whereas the facet Orderliness has not. For this reason the development of specific facets has become ...