Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Inequality and Poverty across Generations in the European Union

This SDN studies the evolution of inequality across age groups leading up to and since the global financial crisis, as well as implications for fiscal and labor policies. Europe’s population is aging, child and youth poverty are rising, and income support systems are often better equipped to address old-age poverty than the challenges faced by poor children and/or unemployed youth today.

Cross-national differences in income mobility: Evidence from Canada, the Unites States and Germany

Globalisation, technological progress and changes in regulations and institutions – which impact on the rise of earnings inequality in OECD countries?

This paper examines the distributive impact of economic globalisation, technological progress and changes in labour market policies, regulations and institutions in OECD countries over the past quarter century, up to the Great Recession. It identifies the relevant pathways between macro-economic developments and earnings inequality among the whole working-age population by accounting for both changes ...

Child Poverty and Changes in Child Poverty in Rich Countries since 1990

The Effect of Unemployment on Life Satisfaction: A Cross-National Comparison Between Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States

This paper investigates the effect of unemployment on life satisfaction from a comparative perspective. It also tests whether the link between unemployment and life satisfaction is moderated or reinforced by contextual unemployment across regions within a country—either through a negative spillover or a positive social-norm effect, or both. The results suggest that noticeable non-pecuniary costs are ...

Adult Social Capital and Track Placement of Ethnic Groups in Germany

Longitudinal Evidence for a Midlife Nadir in Human Well-being: Results from Four Data Sets

There is a large amount of cross-sectional evidence for a midlife low in the life cycle of human happiness and well-being (a ‘U shape’). Yet no genuinely longitudinal inquiry has uncovered evidence for a U-shaped pattern. Thus, some researchers believe the U is a statistical artefact. We re-examine this fundamental cross-disciplinary question. We suggest a new test. Drawing on four data sets, and only ...

Assessing the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures: results from three large samples

Purpose: The present paper assessed the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures by comparing single-item measures to the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)—a more psychometrically established measure. Methods: Two large samples from Washington (N = 13,064) and Oregon (N = 2,277) recruited by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a representative German sample (N = 1,312) recruited ...

When does money matter most? Examining the association between income and life satisfaction over the life course

Previous research shows that the correlation between income and life satisfaction is small to medium in size. We hypothesized that income may mean different things to people at different ages and, therefore, that the association between income and life satisfaction may vary at different points in the life course. We tested this hypothesis in 3 nationally representative panel studies. Multilevel modeling ...

Immigrant Voters, Taxation and the Size of the Welfare State

This paper studies the impact of immigration on public policy setting. As a natural experiment, we exploit the sudden arrival of eight million forced migrants in West Germany after World War II. These migrants were on average poorer than the West German population, but unlike most international migrants they had full voting rights and were eligible for social welfare. Using panel data for West German ...