Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Smoking and the Business Cycle: Evidence from Germany

In this paper, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to investigate the effect on cigarette consumption of macro-economic conditions in the form of regional unemployment rates. The results from our panel data models, several of which control for selection bias, indicate that the propensity to become a smoker increases significantly during an economic downturn, with an approximately 0.7 percentage ...

Socioeconomic status, parenting and conscientiousness: the unequal development of children's focus

Conscientiousness is one of the most relevant personality traits for success across the life course. According to recent studies, facets of Conscientiousness have different relevance in different contexts. One of these facets, Focus, has proved to be important in the context of learning and education, whereas the facet Orderliness has not. For this reason the development of specific facets has become ...

Social origin, conscientiousness, and school grades: Does early socialization of the characteristics orderliness and focus contribute to the reproduction of social inequality?

Among a child's skills and competencies, conscientiousness has been shown to be one of the most important predictors of school performance and later academic achievement. We refer this insight to the social reproduction of social inequality: Is socialization of personality characteristics in the parental home a significant mechanism that contributes to a child's life chances? Using school ...

Poverty and Child Behavioral Problems: The Mediating Role of Parenting and Parental Well-Being

The detrimental impact of poverty on child behavioral problems is well-established, but the mechanisms that explain this relationship are less well-known. Using data from the Families in Germany Study on parents and their children at ages 9–10 (middle childhood), this study extends previous research by examining whether or not and to what extent different parenting styles and parents’ subjective well-being ...

Innovation, Employment, and Firm Performance in the German Service Sektor

Does Education Affect Cognitive Abilities?

We analyze the causal effect of education on old-age cognitive abilities using German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data and regional variation in mandatory years of schooling and the supply of schools. Our outcome variable is the score an individual reaches in an ultra-short intelligence test. We explain this score, using instrumented education. Instrumental variable estimation is necessary since on ...

Reanalyzing Zero Returns to Education in Germany

We analyze the effect of education on wages using German Socio-Economic Panel data and regional variation in mandatory years of schooling and the supply of schools. This allows us to estimate more than one local average treatment effect and heterogeneous effects for different groups of compliers. Our results are in line with previous studies that do not find an effect of compulsory schooling on wages ...

Heterogeneity in Marginal Non-monetary Returns to Higher Education

In this paper we estimate the effects of college education on cognitive abilities and health exploiting exogenous variation in college availability and student loan regulations. By means of semiparametric local instrumental variables techniques we estimate marginal treatment effects in an environment of essential heterogeneity. The results suggest heterogeneous but always positive effects on cognitive ...

Cognitive Functions Buffer Age Differences in Technology Ownership

Background: Technology plays a major role for enhancing quality of life and everyday competence in old age. Mechanic and pragmatic cognitive functions are known to serve as resources when using technology in everyday life. Not much is known about the differential role of mechanic and pragmatic cognitive functions when moderating reduced technology ownership in old age. Objective: In this research, ...

Regional Poverty within the Rich Countries