Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

The Impact of Minimum Wages on Well-Being: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment in Germany

We analyze well-being effects of minimum wages, using the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany as a quasi-experiment. Based on representative data, a difference-in-differences design compares the development of life, job, and pay satisfaction between employees who are affected by the reform according to their pre-intervention wages and those who have marginally higher wages at outset. We find ...

Assimilation and Cohort Effects for German Immigrants

What Determines the Duration of Stay of Immigrants in Germany? Evidence from a Longitudinal Duration Analysis

Purpose: – Because of the increasing importance of immigration for Germany due to the ageing population and the lack of highly skilled in some industries, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the return‐migration of German immigrants. Design/methodology/approach: – The paper uses the German Socio‐economic Panel to conduct an event‐history analysis of return‐migration. Findings: – The analysis reveals ...

Beyond Generalised Trust: Norms of Reciprocity as an Alternative Form of Social Capital in an Assimilationist Integration Regime

Scholars have recently stressed two important avenues for the study of cultural diversity and social capital: the role of political integration regimes as well as alternative indicators to generalised trust. This article addresses both. Focusing on Germany, it provides the first study of the relationship between cultural diversity and social capital in a country implementing an ‘assimilationist’ model ...

The role of works councils in severance payments for dismissed employees

Using representative German employee data, we analyze the role of works councils for the incidence of severance payments subsequent to dismissals. While there is a positive relation with severance payments after those dismissals which stem from plant closings, the incidence of a works council is negatively associated with severance pay subsequent to individual layoffs. In both cases, we find a negative ...

Works Councils, Wages, and Job Satisfaction

We investigate the effects of works councils on employees’ wages and job satisfaction in general and for subgroups with respect to sex and occupational status. Making use of a German representative sample of employees, we find that employees, who move to a firm with a works council, report increases in job satisfaction, but do not receive particular wage increases. Especially the job satisfaction of ...

The Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction - Empirical Evidence and Theoretical Implications

Reference Dependent Preferences and the Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction: Theory and Evidence

Individual and Job-Based Determinants of Performance Appraisal: Evidence from Germany

The anatomy of performance appraisals in Germany

We investigate the use of performance appraisal (PA) in German firms. First, we derive hypotheses on individual and job-based determinants of PA usage. Based on a representative German data set on individual employees, we test these hypotheses and also explore the impact of PA on performance pay and further career prospects. The results include that PA is positively linked to an individual's willingness ...