Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

A Bounding Approach to Age–Period–Cohort Analysis: A Demonstration Using Public Crime Concerns in Germany

In this paper, we present an application of a bounding approach to age–period–cohort (APC) analysis, recently developed by Fosse and Winship (2019), offering a transparent and assumption-aware alternative to commonly used identification strategies. Specifically, we apply the method to evaluate long-term trends in public concern about crime in Germany, addressing whether observed changes reflect genuine ...

Wrong Fit, Missed Gains? Evidence from Skill Training Choices in Liberia

Young job seekers commonly misperceive training returns; we test whether these beliefs misalign choices between two widely offered tracks—job-skills and business-skills training for young women in Liberia. We reassign 30 percent of the applicants from an oversubscribed job-skills program to business-skills and compare them to applicants who remain in their preferred track. In the short run, reassigned ...

Family structures, childcare and school attendance

From parenthood to planet care? The evolution of environmental and climate concerns during family formation

We examine the effect of childbirth on parents’ environmental and climate concerns, focusing on potentially dynamic changes in concerns within a time span of 2 years before and up to 10 years after birth. Additionally, we explore the effect of heterogeneities by gender and educational attainment. Using long-running survey data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP, 1984–2020, N = 108,340) ...

Between integration and return: Ukrainian refugees' wishes to stay in Germany

Too worried about the environment to have children? Or more worried about the environment after having children?

Amid rising concerns about climate change, in recent years, demographers have increasingly examined whether environmental concerns have become a factor in shaping reproductive intentions and outcomes. However, little is still known about the potentially reciprocal relationship between environmental concerns and fertility, in part due to the lack of longitudinal analyses of sufficient temporal scope. ...

Should I buy or should I go? The effect of the big five personality traits and satisfaction with life on E-bike ownership in Germany

A prerequisite for sustainable mobility is the move away from fossil fuels. In addition to the transportation sector and public transport, the electrification of individual transport also contributes to the mobility transition. In the present study, we conducted exploratory structural equation modelling using data (n = 14,008) from a large-scale nationwide household panel in Germany to investigate ...

Surveying emigrants worldwide–using Facebook and Instagram to recruit respondents in cross-national (e)migration research

Sampling remains a major challenge when researching minority populations, especially in cross-national settings. While various sampling methods are established in the field, most of them cannot easily be implemented globally. However, worldwide operating Social Networking Sites provide an opportunity for the recruitment of certain hard-to-reach populations in almost all countries. Targeting German ...

Spatial income inequality in Rajasthan using small area estimation model

India has emerged as the fastest-growing nation in recent years, and rising inequality may obstruct this path, leading to serious socio-economic challenges. This situation has raised the demand for micro-level data among policymakers to facilitate effective decentralised planning and reduce regional disparity. However, the survey data is not ideal for understanding disparities at the disaggregated ...

Perceived expectations for active aging: the role of motivational and personality factors

Perceived expectations for active aging (PEAA) reflect subjective exposure to social expectations about staying active and fit in old age, for example, by maintaining health and social engagement. We investigated whether motivational and personality factors were related to PEAA in the domains of physical health, mental health, and social engagement. We used a nationally representative sample of German ...