SOEPnewsletter March 2025

Data Release: The Wave 1 Scientific Use File of the German Social Cohesion Panel (SCP) is available

The German Social Cohesion Panel (SCP) is a longitudinal study capturing multiple aspects of social cohesion in Germany. Based on a representative population sample drawn from the German population registers, the first wave was collected in 2021. The annual survey is directed not only at the selected individuals but also at all other adult household members. The SCP is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), led in cooperation by the Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and implemented by the survey institute infas.

The dataset "German Social Cohesion Panel 2021/22 – Wave 1" (DOI: 10.60532/scp.2021_22.w1.v1) includes survey data and generated indicators of the first and second part of the first panel wave. It contains responses from 13,053 household anchor persons drawn from population registers and from 3,974 adult household members who were named by the anchor persons and subsequently interviewed.

Further information and data access is available from the Research Data Centre of the Research Institute Social Cohesion (RDC-RISC).

Data release: New SOEP-RV data sets available

The SOEP-RV scientific use files “SOEP-RV Insurance Accounts Sample 2022 (Versichertenkontenstichprobe)” and “SOEP-RV Insured Persons’ Pension Portfolio 2023 (Versichertenrentenbestand)” are now available. Both contain administrative data from the German Pension Insurance of SOEP respondents who have consented in writing to the linking of their survey data with their pension insurance account.

So far, around 16,000 SEOP-Core and SOEP-IS respondents have agreed to this record linkage. Since the social security data encompasses a long lifespan, researchers have unique possibilities to investigate questions regarding long-term social inequality or the effects of political reforms.

Further information and data access is available from the Research Data Centre of the German Pension Insurance (RDC-RV).

New Dataset: SOEP-CMI-ADIAB—Linking Administrative Data from the Institute for Employment Research with SOEP Survey Data

The SOEP-CMI-ADIAB dataset (version 7520 v1) is made available jointly by the SOEP and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). It contains data on SOEP survey respondents linked with respondents’ personal administrative data from the IAB, provided that the SOEP respondents have given their consent and could be identified in the IAB data. The survey data in SOEP-CMI-ADIAB include data from SOEP-Core, the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample, the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees up to and including wave 37 (SOEPv37.eu including the 2020 survey year), and the SOEP Innovation Sample (including the 2020 survey year). The SOEP-CMI-ADIAB data enable analysis of research questions that require the diverse sociodemographic information in the SOEP as well as very precise income data spanning the life course.

For further information visit the website of the RDC IAB.

New Dataset: SOEP-Core Data 1984-2023 (v40) available in spring 2025

All registered data users can already pre-order the latest data v40 via our online order form.

In German: http://www.diw.de/SOEPbestellung
In English: http://www.diw.de/SOEPorder

SOEP field start 2025

At the end of March, survey institute infas will start collecting the new SOEP data – for the interviewees, the study is known as “Leben in Deutschland”: this is the 42^nd survey wave of the SOEP-Core, while the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees in Germany is already going into its 10th wave.

Project extension: BRISE 2025-2029

The SOEP extension for the scientific accompanying research of the project “Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE)” has been approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a further four years. The longitudinal study, previously funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for two four-year periods, examines the cumulative effects of a coordinated intervention program on the cognitive, social and emotional development of children growing up in socio-economically disadvantaged families.

SUPER-RICH – Why wealth is unequally distributed in Germany

As an expert on income and wealth distribution, Markus M. Grabka was interviewed by “Dokus und Reportagen von ZEIT ONLINE” on possible ways in which the state could intervene more strongly in wealth inequality by taxing inheritances, gifts, and assets more heavily. The film by Ann-Kristin Tlusty and Poliana Baumgarten was published online on February 20, 2025, and is also available on YouTube.

clear

^{Markus M. Grabka in “SUPER-RICH – Why wealth is unequally distributed in Germany”.  Screenshot of YouTube video by ZEIT ONLINE. © ZEIT ONLINE}

Veröffentlichungen

Ukrainian refugees in Germany: participation is growing, but many hurdles remain

How are the many Ukrainians who have come to Germany since the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022, faring? An answer comes from the “Longitudinal Study on Refugees from Ukraine in Germany (SUARE),” which has published a research report on the topic on March 3, 2025. The report, based on data collected between July 2023 and January 2024, is published by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Research Center of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ), and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

Many areas of life have stabilized, for example family structures: although women are the main group of adults (75%), the number of men joining their families has increased slightly since 2022. The proportion of single mothers has fallen sharply, but the childcare rate for Ukrainian children is 15% below the German average. In particular, alternative childcare models are needed to make it easier for mothers to enter the labor market, says Sabine Zinn, Acting Director of the SOEP.

Ukrainian children and young people are well integrated in schools: The majority of Ukrainian pupils are now being taught entirely in regular German classes. As of 2025, only 16 percent of schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 17 attend special classes. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of school selection: compared to the overall school population, Ukrainian pupils attend a disproportionately high number of middle and lower secondary schools. Thus, there is a need to ensure equal opportunities.

Further Socio-Economic Panel results relate to the physical and mental health of Ukrainians. IAB and BAMF-FZ – cooperating partners – analyze the data with regard to labor market integration, housing, participation in education, and German language skills, for example. The full text of the report is available here (PDF, 2.84 MB) (only in German). 

Intuition is a central element of entrepreneurial decision-making

By conceptually replicating and extending a published study, Levent Neyse and Frank M. Fossen confirm that entrepreneurs do not resist intuitive (but potentially wrong) decisions as much as hired managers do. Therefore, within the SOEP-IS survey, 1961 adults answered the so-called Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), which assesses the ability to avoid intuitive decisions and to switch to an analytical process. The results of the extended analysis suggest that this difference is not fully explained by occupational sorting, but partially by overconfidence.

Fossen, F. M., & Neyse, L. (2024). Entrepreneurship, Management, and Cognitive Reflection: A Preregistered Replication Study With Extensions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 48(4), 1082-1109. DOI: 10.1177/10422587231211005.

Income in Germany: low-wage sector shrinks, poverty risk rate falls 

With rapidly rising inflation, in 2022 gross hourly wages fell on average, but the lowest wage decile caught up with all other deciles due to the sharp increase in the minimum wage in 2022. These and other encouraging developments – which can be read in the DIW Weekly Report 7+8/2025 (PDF, 2.09 MB ) by Markus M. Grabka – are shown in the latest SOEP income survey, for which around 30,000 people in Germany are interviewed each year. 

In eastern Germany in particular, both the low-wage sector and the at-risk-of-poverty rate, which is measured by net household income, are falling significantly, but are still higher than in western Germany. Across Germany, the low-wage sector has shrunk from its peak in 2007 from 23.4% to 18.5% of employees, while in eastern Germany it has even fallen by 14 percentage points - from 38% to 24%. 

After a long period of increase, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for those with less than 60% of the median net household income is falling for the first time. There has been a sharp decline in the risk of poverty, particularly in eastern Germany and among eastern German children and young people. The rate of single-parent households at risk of poverty has also fallen from a high of 37% in 2018 to 31% in 2022, and even from 43% to 32% in the eastern German states at the same time.

“The measures introduced in recent years for single parents, such as changes to the maintenance advance or the increased tax relief contribution for single parents, have had a visible effect,” states study author Grabka and continues: ”The falling figures for the at-risk-of-poverty rate are a pleasing finding, but this must be sustained in order to speak of a trend reversal.” 

© DIW Berlin

clear

© DIW Berlin

^{Infographic for Grabka, M. M. (2025): Income distribution: Signs of a trend reversal in the poverty risk; single parents less frequently at risk of poverty. DIW Weekly Report 7+8/2025, 43-52. (Audio) Interview in German with Markus M. Grabka (DIW)}

Loneliness in Germany: Low-Income Earners at Highest Risk of Loneliness

The number of people in Germany who feel lonely has increased significantly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. A study based on SOEP data from May 2021 to February 2022 examines regional differences and severely affected risk profiles – presented by the study authors Theresa M. Entringer, Barbara Stacherl, and Linda Kumrow in the DIW Weekly Report 5+6/2025 (PDF, 7.98 MB ).  

In the survey, a distinction was made between different facets of loneliness (solitude, social isolation, and exclusion) so that a loneliness index could be calculated. More than half of the people surveyed stated that they sometimes or often felt alone (56 percent). In contrast, feelings of social isolation (20 percent) or exclusion (28 percent) were mentioned less frequently. Contrary to previous studies, loneliness is distributed similarly by region in the current data, with the exception of the facet of loneliness, which occurs more frequently in the west and south of Germany than in the east. 

The analyses also show that people with an income below the median are particularly affected by loneliness, especially men with a migration background. In addition to personal characteristics, socio-demographic features also play a significant role. However, loneliness can affect anyone. In order to destigmatize the topic, education is just as important as addressing at-risk groups and targeting group-specific services for those affected. In addition, the burden of loneliness should be taken into account, particularly in political decisions that affect social participation. The aim should be to recognize loneliness as a key health risk, similar to stress. 

© DIW Berlin

clear

© DIW Berlin

^{Infographic for Entringer, T. M., Linda Kumrow, and Barbara Stacherl (2025): Loneliness in Germany: Low-Income Earners at Highest Risk of Loneliness. DIW Weekly Report 5+6/2025, 33-40. (Audio) Interview in German with Theresa M. Entringer (DIW)}

Refugees send money abroad less often than other migrants

According to Bundesbank data, annual remittances abroad have now reached 22 billion euros – but no data identifies whether these transactions are made by migrants, refugees, or non-migrants. How often the respective groups actually transfer money abroad for private reasons is being investigated for the first time in Germany with the help of the SOEP household surveys including the migration and refugee samples, which are being carried out jointly with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). 

Calculations in DIW Weekly Report 49/2024 (PDF, 2.45 MB ), by study authors Adriana Cardozo Silva and Sabine Zinn, show that the proportion of refugees who send money abroad has fallen from 13 to 7 percent since 2012, while it has risen from eight to twelve percent among migrants.  

Refugees are even 2.7 percentage points less likely to send money abroad than Germans without a migration background.  

The figures also make it clear that the family situation and the intention to return home influence the likelihood of transferring money abroad: This probability decreases with the number of children in the household and with the intention to stay in Germany for the longer term. 

© DIW Berlin

clear

© DIW Berlin

^{Infographic for Cardozo Silva, A., and Sabine Zinn. (2025): Refugees Send Remittances Abroad Less Often than Other Migrants. DIW Weekly Report 49/2024, 301-308. (Audio) Interview in German with Sabine Zinn (DIW)}

• Cristóbal Moya took over the management of the SOEPcampus at the beginning of March 2025.  

• Levent Neyse took over as head of SOEP-IS at the beginning of April 2025.

SOEP departure

We had to say goodbye to three outstanding SOEP researchers: 

• Adriana Cardozo Silva left SOEP at the end of February to work as a professor of economics in Hanover. Fortunately, she will continue to work with SOEP as a guest researcher in the SUARE project.
• From April, Viola Hilbert will take up a position at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) in Bonn in the “Financial and Statistical Issues of Social Integration” unit. The unit is located in the quantitative part of the strategy department and is responsible for, among other things, determining the standard needs of basic social security.
• Charlotte Bartels has been offered and has accepted a professorship in economics at the University of Leipzig.

Fortunately, all three will remain associated with the SOEP as guest researchers – we congratulate them on their outstanding professional successes and wish them all the best!   

Welcome to SOEP

Rebecca Scheffauer joined the ENTAILab project as a postdoc on December 1, 2024, in the division Survey Methodology and Management.

Daniel Labarca Pinto was student assistant at SOEP before and is now working as a research associate in the SOEP-LEE2 project, in the division Applied Panel Analyses, since December 15, 2024.

Christian Hunkler took over the role as acting division head of Survey Methodology and Management, with his SOEP start date on January 1, 2025.

Mathis Herpell and Sascha dos Santos (PhD students) are both working as research associates in the Life Course and Inequality research group since January 1, 2025.

Alexander Lepe joined the division of Survey Methodology and Management on February 1, 2025, he is working at SOEP for the Leibniz Lab “Pandemic Preparedness”.

Jörg Hartmann joined the SUARE project on February 7, 2025, in the division of Survey Methodology and Management.

Job Openings at SOEP

We’d like to call your attention to job openings at the SOEP: For example, we are currently looking for a student assistant (F/M/X) for data management (19h/week). All our job openings can be found on this page.

ECPD Distinguished Lecture „The benefits and harms of ethnic group classification in multicultural societies: public health and social perspectives“ (Professor Raj Bhopal)

On April 3rd, 2024, Professor Raj Bhopal CBE will be a guest of the Einstein Center Population Diversity (ECPD) for a Distinguished Lecture with the title “The benefits and harms of ethnic group classification in multicultural societies: public health and social perspectives.”

Click this link to download an abstract for the upcoming Distinguished Lecture.

The Lecture will be in English. The number of seats is limited, so make sure to sign up through this online RSVP form.

Venue: Hörsaalruine des Berliner Medizinhistorischen Museums der Charité (Virchowweg 16, 10117 Berlin)

DZHW: Special Issue on Spatial Mobility and Subjective Well-Being

The German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) is launching a special issue on Spatial mobility and subjective well-being in Social Indicators Research. We are looking forward to your submissions (submission time: May 1 to October 1, 2025) and would appreciate if you could circulate our call for papers.