External refereed essays

Trumps Zölle: chaotische Entkopplung

Geopolitischer Umbruch verschärft Krise – Strukturreformen noch dringlicher

The Keys to the House - How Wealth Transfers Stratify Homeownership Opportunities

This study investigates how actual and anticipated intergenerational wealth transfers – i.e., inter vivos gifts and inheritances – contribute to inequalities in the transition to homeownership by parental social class. Utilizing discrete-time survival analysis on data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study (N = 13,018), we find that individuals whose parents were manual workers or service workers ...

: Non-Additivity of Subjective Expectations over Different Time Intervals

Contracting Matters: Hedging Producers and Consumers With a Renewable Energy Pool

Renewable energy installations are rapidly gaining market share due to falling technology costs and supportive policies. Meanwhile, the energy price crisis in 2022 shifted the energy policy debate toward the question of how consumers can better benefit from the low and stable generation costs of renewable electricity. Long-term contracts for renewable energy to link producers and consumers are an option ...

The Reliability of Replications: A Study in Computational Reproductions

This study investigates researcher variability in computational reproduction, an activity for which it is least expected. Eighty-five independent teams attempted numerical replication of results from an original study of policy preferences and immigration. Reproduction teams were randomly grouped into a ‘transparent group’ receiving original study and code or ‘opaque group’ receiving only a method ...

Fieldwork Monitoring in Practice: Insights from 17 Large-scale Social Science Surveys in Germany

This study provides a synopsis of the current fieldwork monitoring practices of large-scale surveys in Germany. Based on the results of a standardized questionnaire, the study summarizes fieldwork monitoring indicators used and fieldwork measures carried out by 17 large-scale social sciences surveys in Germany. Our descriptive results reveal that a common set of fieldwork indicators and measures exist ...

Integration of Renewable Energy Resources Into the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Modeling a Demand Side Management Approach and Application to a Microgrid Farm in Morocco

This paper introduces a framework aimed at analyzing the water-energy-food nexus (WEF) within the context of sustainable farming practices utilizing renewable energy sources, specifically Solar PV, to optimize water management efficiency. The focus lies on investigating the interplay between the water-energy-food nexus and both technical and institutional factors. The study particularly delves into ...

Evaluating Nuclear Power’s Suitability for Climate Change Mitigation: Technical Risks, Economic Implications and Incompatibility with Renewable Energy Systems: A Framework to Push Research Frontiers

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the suitability of nuclear power as an option to combat the escalating climate emergency. Summarizing and evaluating key arguments, we elucidate why nuclear power is unsuitable for addressing climate change. The primary argument centers around the unresolved technical and human risks of accidents and proliferation, which are unlikely to be e????ectively ...

Communicating Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss with Local Populations: Exploring Communicative Utopias in Eight Transdisciplinary Case Studies

Climate change and biodiversity loss trigger policies targeting and impacting local communities worldwide. However, research and policy implementation often fail to sufficiently consider community responses and to involve them. We present the results of a collective self-assessment exercise for eight case studies of communications with regard to climate change or biodiversity loss between project teams ...

Polygenic Associations with Educational Attainment in East Versus West Germany: Differences Emerge After Reunification

Attitudes, Experiences, and Usage Intentions of Artificial Intelligence: A Population Study in Germany

Artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly affects individuals’ private and professional lives. Importantly, both the acceptance and adoption of new AI technologies in society is heavily impacted by the attitudes that people hold; yet, there is currently limited information on how people perceive and intend to use AI at the national and demographic levels. Therefore, this study examined a random sample ...

A Cohabitation Wealth Premium for Women and Men: Considering the Regulatory Framework and Normative Acceptance in France and Germany

We examine the association between cohabitation and women’s and men’s wealth, closely considering the distinct regulatory and normative contexts in France and Eastern and Western Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio- Economic Panel Study (2002–2017) and the French wealth survey Histoire de Vie et Patrimoine (2014/15-2020/21), we apply fixed-effects regression models to examine potential ...

Perceived Discrimination Among Migrants in Germany: Does Social Capital Moderate Harmful Effects on Mental Health?

Background The harmful mental health effects of perceived discrimination for migrant populations are well established. The potential buffering effect of regional-level social capital, however, has not previously been explored. Methods Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP; 2009–2018) we apply multilevel models to assess the effect of frequent or infrequent perceived discrimination on ...

Inform Me When It Matters: Cost Salience, Energy Consumption, and Efficiency Investments

Using a large-scale natural experiment in staggered billing dates for energy use in Germany and a unique billing dataset for multi-apartment buildings, this paper shows that the month of billing is a significant determinant of heat energy consumption. A large set of residential buildings demand significantly more heat energy annually, when the bill is issued during off-winter months. The paper finds ...

Abkopplung von Russland: Wie weit sich die EU bei Gas und Öl gelöst hat

Mit der Invasion Russlands in die Ukraine im Februar 2022 wurde die Abhängigkeit der Europäischen Union von Energieimporten aus Russland offenbar. Die EU-Kommission reagierte mit dem Programm „REPowerEU“. Es hat zum Ziel, die Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen aus Russland zu beenden, die europäische Energieversorgung zu diversifizieren, die Energieeffizienz zu erhöhen und die Energiewende durch ...

Patience and Subnational Differences in Human Capital: Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests

Age and Cognitive Skills: Use It or Lose It

Cross-sectional age-skill profiles suggest that cognitive skills start declining by age 30 if not earlier. If accurate, such age-driven skill losses pose a major threat to the human capital of societies with rapidly aging populations. We estimate actual age-skill profiles from individual changes in literacy and numeracy skills at different ages. We use the unique German longitudinal component of the ...

How Long Will You Be a Widow? Trends and Income Gradient in Widowhood

Does Perceived Social Cohesion Moderate the Effect of Parental Stressors on Depressive Symptoms? A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Perceived social cohesion (PSC) is a protective factor for mental health. Yet, evidence on social mechanisms influencing mental health is scarce. Aims We examined the moderating role of PSC between parental stressors and depressive symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed a multilevel moderated linear regression analysis using German Socio-Economic Panel ...