Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Accounting for Imputed and Capital Income Flows

Using representative and consistent microdata from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) from 1985-2007, we illustrate that capital income (CI = return on financial investments) and imputed rent (IR = return on investments in owner-occupied housing) have become increasingly important sources of economic inequality in Germany over the last two decades. Whereas the operationalization of CI in ...

Die Bildungschancen von Aussiedlerkindern

Mit der Zuwanderung der Aussiedler war zumindest partiell die Erwartung verbunden, dass sie – anders als die zuvor und parallel zuwandernden nicht-deutschen Migranten – leichter in der aufnehmenden Gesellschaft aufgehen würden. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht diese Frage im Hinblick auf die Bildungschancen der Kinder der Aussiedler im Vergleich mit denen anderer Migrantenkinder und denen der autochthonen ...

The Response of Household Saving to the Large Shock of German Reunification

German reunification was a large, unexpected shock for East Germans. Exploiting German reunification as a natural experiment, I analyze the validity of the life-cycle consumption model. I derive three stylized features concerning the saving behavior of East versus West Germans after reunification: (i) East Germans have higher saving rates than West Germans; (ii) this East-West gap is increasing in ...

On preferences for being self-employed

The concept of procedural utility assumes that agents not only receive utility from outcomes but also attach an independent value to the procedures that lead to these outcomes. This paper analyzes whether the preferences that underlie procedural utility are homogeneous using the case of independence at the workplace. I exploit the event of German reunification to assign preferences for independence ...

Spheres of trust: An empirical analysis of the foundations of particularised and generalised trust

While the literature on trust has produced various conceptual models, there is also some confusion concerning different types of trust and their formation. In this article, three contested points are empirically clarified. First, are there really different forms of trust as much of the literature suggests? Second, if so, then how are these different types of trust related to each other? Third, what ...

Happiness: A Revolution in Economics

Being Independent is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self-Employment and Hierarchy

The Life Satisfaction Approach to Environmental Valuation

In many countries environmental policies and regulations are implemented to improve environmental quality and thus individuals' well-being. However, how do individuals value the environment? In this paper, we review the Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA) representing a new non-market valuation technique. The LSA builds on the recent development of subjective well-being research in economics and ...

What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?

Happiness Research: State and Prospects