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Perceived Climate Impacts and Environmental Action

This study explores the responsiveness of climate policy preferences and individual behaviors to variations in beliefs about climate change impacts. Using an information provision experiment embedded within the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze how updated beliefs influence pro-environmental engagement and whether these effects persist over time. By linking experimental data with rich...

Mitigating Adverse Social and Health Impacts of COVID-19 with Applied Arts

In this project, we analyze whether the arts can mitigate negative impacts of social distancing and isolation on mental health and wellbeing, ease the burden of closed day-care and school facilities on families, and preserve attitudes of solidarity and trust. Using the SOEP-CoV questionnaire, we examine whether experience with music enabled individuals and households to handle social isolation and ...

Cognitive Abilities and Economic Preferences: Evidence from Genetic and Behavioral Data

An influential body of economic literature has consistently shown strong associations between cognitive abilities and economic preferences. However, much of this research has overlooked the potential endogeneity of cognitive abilities - an oversight given that these abilities stem from a series of investment decisions influenced by factors likely correlated with economic preferences. To address...

The Welfare Consequences Of Learning Where One Stands: Evidence from a Large Field Experiment

The seminar will share two connected papers, one newer, and in more need of feedback, than the other. The premise of both is the received wisdom that income rank matters for welfare, in particular life satisfaction. In most discussions, however, income comparisons are limited to the national population and evidence is correlational. In the first paper, we report on an experiment that randomized...

Nearly every fifth person in Germany feels lonely some of the time

The impact of heat exposure on the well-being of urban residents (with Felix Zwies)

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat events. Understanding the impact of heat exposure is crucial due to its wide-ranging economic and social consequences, including increased energy demand, healthcare costs, reduced labor productivity, and exacerbation of social inequities in urban areas. In this context, the project's objective is to investigate the impact of heat...

How Spousal Bereavement Shapes Life Satisfaction: Stability and Change Across Historical Time

Reversing the Reversal? A Systematic Reassessment and Meta-Analysis of Wellbeing Research

Fierce debate over the feasibility of cardinally measuring utility – or ‘wellbeing’ – with surveys has recently resurfaced. Several prominent papers claimed that when interpreting survey data as strictly ordinal, most of the literature’s results are easily reversed. We systematically assess this claim. To do so, we replicate the universe of wellbeing research published in top economics journals...

Chronic Disease Onset and Wellbeing Development: Longitudinal Analysis and the Role of Healthcare Access

Background Experiencing the onset of a chronic disease is a serious health event impacting living conditions and wellbeing. Investigating wellbeing development and its predictors is crucial to understand how individuals adapt to chronic illnesses. This study (i) analyzed the impact of a chronic disease on wellbeing development, and (ii) explored spatial healthcare access as potential moderating factor. ...

Parents' Life Satisfaction Prior to and Following Preterm Birth

The current study tested whether the reported lower wellbeing of parents after preterm birth, relative to term birth, is a continuation of a pre-existing difference before pregnancy. Parents from Germany (the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, N = 10,649) and the United Kingdom (British Household Panel Study and Understanding Society, N = 11,012) reported their new-born’s birthweight and gestational ...