Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Varieties of Welfare Capitalism

Family Policy Models and Family Policy Outcomes - A Nordic Perspective

Income Inequality and Self-rated Health Status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel

We examine the effect of income inequality on individuals’ self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 11 countries, using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modeling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this ...

The effect of face-to-face interviewing on personality measurement

In recent years, an increasing number of nationally representative surveys in the social sciences and economics have implemented the Big Five model of personality. While many personality inventories were originally developed in the context of self-administered questionnaires, they are often used by large surveys in face-to-face interview settings instead. Drawing on an experimental research design, ...

How a Universal Music Education Program Affects Time Use, Behavior, and School Attitude

It is still widely debated how non-cognitive skills can be affected by policy intervention. For example, universal music education programs are becoming increasingly popular among policy makers in Germany and other developed countries. These are intended to give children from poor families the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Moreover, policymakers present these programs as innovative policies ...

Developing skills through non-formal learning activities: Four essays in the economics of education (Dissertation)

Chapter 2: Despite numerous studies on skill development, we know little about the effects of extracurricular music activities on cognitive and non-cognitive skills. This study examines how music training during childhood and youth affects the development of cognitive skills, school grades, personality, time use and ambition using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Our findings suggest ...

Does diabetes prevention pay for itself? Evaluation of the M.O.B.I.L.I.S. program for obese persons

In response to the growing burden of obesity, public primary prevention programs against obesity have been widely recommended. Several studies have estimated the cost-effectiveness of diabetes-prevention trials for different countries. Nevertheless, it is still controversial if prevention conducted in more real-world settings and among people with increased risk but not yet exhibiting increased glucose ...

Loneliness in Older Adults in the USA and Germany: Measurement Invariance and Validation

Loneliness is a subjective experience characterized by the distress that accompanies a perceived deficit in social relationship quantity and especially quality. Feelings of loneliness increase risk for morbidity and mortality, and these health costs are particularly evident in older age and as lonely feelings persist over time. The scope of the problem of loneliness in older age is not yet well understood, ...

Establishing Frameworks of Contentment: Income Satisfaction in Germany, 1991

Can self-assessed risk attitudes predict behavior under risk? Evidence from a field study in China

This paper examines whether the self-assessed risk attitude predicts individual choice under risk in a field study on a sample of more than 200 Chinese farmers. Farmers’ self-assessed risk attitudes are elicited by the widely used German socio-economic panel (SOEP) general risk question. Individual choice in the Bomb Risk Elicitation Task (BRET) is tested. Results show that the self-assessed willingness ...