Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Economic consequences of immigration in Europe

Occupational Recognition and Immigrant Labor Market Outcomes

In this paper, we analyze how the formal recognition of immigrants' foreign occupational qualifications afects their subsequent labor market outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on a novel German data set that links respondents' survey information to their administrative records, allowing us to observe immigrants at monthly intervals before, during and after their application for occupational ...

Migration and Imperfect Labor Markets: Theory and Cross-Country Evidence from Denmark, Germany and the UK

We investigate the labor market effects of immigration in Denmark, Germany and the UK, three countries which are characterized by considerable differences in labor market institutions and welfare states. Institutions such as collective bargaining, minimum wages, employment protection and unemployment benefits affect the way in which wages respond to labor supply shocks, and, hence, the labor market ...

Migration and Wage Setting: Reassessing the Labor Effects of Migration

This paper employs a wage-setting approach to analyze the labor market effects of immigration into Germany. The wage-setting framework relies on the assumption that wages tend to decline with the unemployment rate, albeit imperfectly. This enables us to consider labor market rigidities, which are particularly relevant in Europe. We find that the elasticity of the wage-setting curve is particularly ...

Headwind or Tailwind: Do Partners’ Resources Support or Restrict Promotion to a Leadership Position in Germany?

In Germany, as in other modern societies, a low representation of women in top positions remains a stable form of gender inequality in the labour market. This article examines the extent to which a partner’s labour market and financial resources influence gender-specific probabilities of obtaining a leadership position. Well-established theories are examined that provide different assumptions as to ...

Girls preferred? Changing Patterns of Sex Preferences in the Two German States

Why are middle-aged people so depressed? Evidence from West Germany

Does happiness vary with age? The evidence is inconclusive. Some studies show happiness to increase with age (Diener et al. 1999; Argyle 2001). Others hold that the association is U-shaped with either highest depression rates (Mroczek and Christian, 1998; Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008) or highest happiness levels occurring during middle age (Easterlin, 2006). Current studies suffer from two shortcomings. ...

Unhealthy Conditions? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Health of Children in One- and Two-parent Households

Families produce health, but changes in familial structures are made responsible for many negative health trends in the population. How does the health of younger children today in Germany develop when comparing whether the parents live together or separately? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), we are able to show that children in traditional marriages are not generally healthier ...

Happy Newcomers? Subjective Well-Being of First-Generation Immigrants in Germany

First-generation immigrants in Germany are surprisingly satisfied with their life. We test to what extent selection, adaptation, or resilience explains their comparatively high level of subjective well-being (SWB). Using Panel data from 1984-2014, we run simultaneous probit and growth curve models and identify competing mechanisms of positive integration. We find mixed evidence for health selection: ...

Love and Death in Germany: The Marital Biography and Its Effect on Mortality