Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Are Relative-Income Effects Constant across the Well-being Distribution?

This paper challenges the common assumption made by economists to date that income comparisons are similarly important in different segments of the subjective well-being (SWB) distribution. The results, based on the 2000-2007 waves of the German SOEP and on a Generalized Ordered Probit for panel data, show that relative income, as measured either by the mean income of the reference group or the individual ...

Risk attitude and wage growth: replicating Shaw (1996)

We replicate Shaw (J Labor Econ 14(4):626–653, 1996) who found that individual wage growth is higher for individuals with greater preference for risk taking. Expanding her dataset with more American observations and data for Germany, Spain, and Italy, we find evidence that risk attitudes are relevant but support is mixed at best for the original specifications.

Income comparisons and non-cognitive skills

People gain utility from occupying a higher ranked position in the income distribution of the reference group. This paper investigates whether these gains depend on an individual’s set of non-cognitive skills. Using the 2000-2008 waves of the German Socioeconomic Panel dataset (SOEP), a subjective question on Life Satisfaction, and three different sets of non-cognitive skills indicators, we find significant ...

Life Satisfaction, Income Comparisons and Individual Traits

People gain utility from occupying a higher ranked position in the income distribution of the reference group. This paper investigates whether these gains depend on an individual's set of personality and affective traits. Using the 2000 to 2013 waves of the German Socio‐economic Panel dataset (SOEP), a subjective question on Life Satisfaction, and three different measures of personal and affective ...

Educational Qualifications and Wage Inequality: Evidence for Europe

Experimental and Survey Evidence on the Development of Preferences and Skills (dissertation)

The focus of this research is on decisions related to human capital formation and preferences crucial for social interaction. These decisions are analyzed at different stages of the life-cycle, starting with other-regarding preferences in preschoolers, followed by skill formation in adolescents and preferences for honesty in adults. Answering the questions on skill formation and human capital accumulation ...

Selective Flexibilization and Deregulation of the Labour Market: The German Answer to Increased Needs for Employment Flexibility and its Consequences for Social Inequalities

In both academia as well as public discourse, globalization has turned into a prominent reference when discussing recent changes in contemporary societies. The majority of earlier literature,however, has largely restricted itself to the broader relationship between globalization and entire national economies, although there have been smaller studies that have investigated how globalization actually ...

A new mobility regime in Germany? Young people's labor market entry and phase of establishment since the mid-1980s

Reversing Early Retirement in Germany

This article investigates the effects and risks of recent pension reforms in Germany. While German pension policy systematically supported early retirement for many years in order to relieve the regulated labour market in times of economic stagnation, there has been a substantial change of the pension policy paradigm in the more recent past. Latest reforms expect older people to prolong working life. ...

From School to Work: Patterns in Germany and the United States