The 16th International German Socio-Economic Panel User Conference (SOEP2026) will be held in Berlin from July 8 to 9, 2026 at the Quadriga Campus.
The conference provides researchers who use the SOEP with the opportunity to present and discuss their work with their peers. This includes users of the SOEP part of the Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF), LIS/LWS data, and SOEP-IS, as well as users of the migration samples (IAB-SOEP, IAB-BAMF-SOEP).
We particularly welcome contributions addressing meta-science, robustness, replicability, reproducibility, and open science. This includes, but is not limited to, studies that compare and/or combine different populations or samples, analyses, designs, methods, and time periods. In addition, we encourage submissions beyond this thematic focus, especially those making use of the longitudinal features of SOEP, as well as submissions on survey methodology and cross-national comparative analysis.
We are pleased to announce as keynote speakers:
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn
University of Zurich - UZH (Switzerland)
Title: "Personality is stable until it isn't"
Prof. Dr. Thomas Dohmen
University of Bonn and Maastricht University (Germany/Netherlands)
Title: "Twenty-Two Years of the General Risk Question: Robust Evidence on Risk Attitudes Over the Life Course and Across Countries"
The best papers presented at the conference will be honored with the Joachim R. Frick Memorial Prize. The SOEP2026 scientific program committee will act as a jury and will present the award at the end of the conference.
For more information on Joachim R. Frick and former prize winners, please check our website.
Key dates to keep in mind:
In addition to the preliminary schedule (PDF, 268.97 KB) (PDF, 170.33 KB), find the full program with presentation titles, session chairs, and the abstracts/papers (where available) below:
July 8, 2026 with Parallel Session 1-9, Special Session on CNEF, and Keynote Speech:
| Plenary Session |
Welcome Address: Recent Developments in the SOEP: |
|
PS 1 (10:00 - 12:00): |
Inequality and Measurement (Chair: Jan Marcus, Room 1.01) |
| Social Inequalities in Mortality and Diverging Survival Across Birth Cohorts in Germany, 1996–2023 Daniel Tarekegn Worede, Alfons Hollederer; abstract (PDF, 99.55 KB) |
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| Measuring Multidimensional Deprivation, Well-Being, and Inequalities Tommaso Bechini, Peter Krause; abstract (PDF, 204.34 KB) |
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| Inequality of Opportunity in Health in Germany Daniel Graeber, Paulina Mertinkat, Isabella Retter, Carsten Schröder; abstract (PDF, 32.28 KB) |
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| Does Multi-dimensional Heaping Aggravate Attenuation Bias? Dean R. Lillard, Yang Shi; abstract (PDF, 143.42 KB) |
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| PS 2 (10:00 - 12:00): | Refugee Integration (Chair: Dean R. Lillard, Room 1.02) |
| Conditional Permanent Residency and Refugee Integration: Evidence from Germany’s 2016 Reform Elena Matheny; abstract (PDF, 60.91 KB) |
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| Multidimensional Integration of Refugees and their Children in Germany Lena Simmat, Thomas Siedler; abstract (PDF, 0.73 MB) |
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| Accounting for Migration Selectivity in Wage-Destination Country Language Fluency Estimates Dean R. Lillard, Xin “Jonathan” Liu; abstract (PDF, 186.4 KB) |
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| Market Structures, Prejudice, and the Residual Wage Gap Between Refugees and Natives David Titus; paper (PDF, 1.24 MB) |
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| PS 3 (10:00 - 12:00): | Wealth, Taxation, and Redistribution (Chair: Daniel Graeber, Room 1.03) |
| Measuring Redistributive Preferences Implicit in Tax Policy: A Simulation Approach Niklas Isaak, Robin Jessen; abstract (PDF, 155.12 KB) |
|
| Born into Dispossession: Inherited Wealth and Extreme Voting in Reunified Germany Evelyne Brie; abstract (PDF, 124.06 KB) |
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Inheritances and the Structure of the Wealth Distribution in Germany |
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Wealth Taxation in Germany |
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| Keynote 1 (13:00 - 14:00): | Thomas Dohmen (Chair: Levent Neyse, Auditorium) |
| Special Session on CNEF (14:15 - 15:45): | (Chair: Markus M. Grabka, Auditorium) abstracts (PDF, 208.56 KB) |
| School Disruptions, Parental Employment and Earnings: Evidence from Canada during COVID-19 Zihao Zheng, Casey Warman, Dean R. Lillard |
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| The impact of school disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic on parental labor supply and earnings in Australia Nicolás Salamanca, Tanya Gupta, Irma Mooi-Reci, Mark Wooden |
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| Labor supply responses to granular COVID-induced school disruptions in Canada and the United States Dean R. Lillard, Joseph J. Sabia, Zihao Sheng, Casey Warman |
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| School Closures and Parental Labor Supply: Evidence from Germany Blanka Imre, Markus M. Grabka, Oskar Breer, Neil Murray |
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| PS 4 (14:15 - 15:45): | Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction (Chair: Zahra Murad, Room 1.01) |
| Life satisfaction, loneliness, and depressivity in consistently single young adults in Germany and the UK Michael D. Krämer, Julia Stern, Laura Buchinger, Geoff MacDonald & Wiebke Bleidorn; abstract (PDF, 106.8 KB) |
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| The relationship between blood donation and life satisfaction Marco Kühne; abstract (PDF, 44.87 KB) |
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| Narcissism and wellbeing in midlife and beyond Alan Piper; abstract (PDF, 109.31 KB) |
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| PS 5 (14:15 - 15:45): | Household Dynamics (Chair: Jian Li, Room 1.02) |
| Is what’s ‘mine’ also ‘yours’? Conflicting perspectives on money management in couples’ relationships Thomas Eichhorn, Kathrin Leuze; abstract (PDF, 212.5 KB) |
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| Linked Lives, Lasting Effects – Financial Security after Widowhood in Germany and the Netherlands Clara Overweg and William Fernandez; abstract (PDF, 65.65 KB) |
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| The Career Costs of Elderly Parent Care Sebastian Gsell; abstract (PDF, 126.64 KB) |
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| PS 6 (14:15 - 15:45): | Environment and Climate Change (Chair: Marianna Magagnoli, Room 1.03) |
| Keeping Up at the Planet’s Expense: Longitudinal Evidence on Relative Concerns and Environmental Attitudes Alpaslan Akay and Nur Banu Kartal; abstract (PDF, 208.45 KB) |
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| Navigating the Energy Transition: The Impacts of Germany’s 2020 Coal Phase-Out Legislation on Macro-Level Worries Yasmine Bakr, Sachintha Fernando, Christoph Wunder; abstract (PDF, 73.22 KB) |
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| Household Financial Resilience and Well-Being under Climate Risk: Evidence from Germany Dominik Bursy; abstract (PDF, 128.22 KB) |
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| PS 7 (16:15 - 17:45): | Mental Health (Chair: Louise Biddle, Room 1.03) |
| A longitudinal study of the associations between the Impostor Phenomenon, depression, and anxiety on basis of the SOEP-IS data from 2012 to 2018 Kay Brauer; abstract (PDF, 129.29 KB) |
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| How Mental Health Shapes Venture Performance: A Longitudinal Study of Mechanisms Tanaporn Maneein, Daniel Graeber, Alexander Kritikos, and Ute Stephan; abstract (PDF, 118.99 KB) |
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| From Early Mental Health to Adult Education Outcomes Dang Tien Dung Nguyen (Derrick); abstract (PDF, 160.59 KB) |
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| PS 8 (16:15 - 17:45): | Gender and Participation (Chair: Jian Li, Room 1.02) |
| Time for a Family? Labour and Fertility under the Minimum Wage Marina Alcázar Cid; abstract (PDF, 129.24 KB) |
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| More work, less politics: The gendered impact of working time increase on political interest Raúl Villegas Santana; abstract (PDF, 37.25 KB) |
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| Is There a Participation Penalty to Parenting? The Transitions to First and Second Birth in Midlife and Their Consequences for Political Participation and Volunteering Kübra Akkaya; abstract (PDF, 83.82 KB) |
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| PS 9 (16:15 - 17:45): | Labour Markets, Wages, and Institutions (Chair: Rebecca Olthaus, Room 1.03) |
| Works councils and bonus payments Laszlo Goerke, Sven A. Hartmann, Yue Huang; abstract (PDF, 91.3 KB) |
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| Declining labour market inequality but rising household income inequality – Understanding changes in the German income distribution 2014/15 to 2020/21 Martin Biewen and Jan Simon Wiemann; abstract (PDF, 81.57 KB) |
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| Understanding the Age Wage Gap in the German Labor Market Chandra Madhurima; abstract (PDF, 198.53 KB) |
July 9, 2026 with Parallel Sessions 10-15 and Open Science Lecture:
| PS 10 (9:15 - 11:15): | Gender and Work (Chair: Zahra Murad, Room 1.01) |
| Same love, same commute – Gender roles and commuting times in comparison Fine Cordua; abstract (PDF, 90.16 KB) |
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| Fathers’ paternity leave-taking and the partner earnings gap in Germany Martina Dieckhoff, Antje Mertens, Laura Romeu-Gordo (tbc); abstract (PDF, 39.42 KB) |
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| Equal Rights, Unequal Impact? The Intended and Unintended Effects of the Same-Sex Marriage Legalisation in Germany on Wellbeing Lea-Sophie Funk; abstract (PDF, 98.19 KB) |
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| PS 11 (9:15 - 11:15): | Migration and Political Orientations (Chair: Elena Sommer, Room 1.02) |
| Exit or Voice? How Migrants Respond to Rising Local Political Hostility in Germany Abdelkarim Laglil Herradi; abstract (PDF, 44.33 KB) |
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| Between Two Cultures: Bicultural Identity Integration and Career Outcomes — Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Taha Kamat; abstract (PDF, 57.7 KB) |
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| How Do Tech-Workers’ Values and Politics Evolve? A Panel Study Gilad Be’ery, Dmitry Epstein, and Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan; abstract (PDF, 76.21 KB) |
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| PS 12 (9:15 - 11:15): | Economic Insecurities, Vulnerability, and Resilience (Chair: Jan Marcus, Room 1.03) |
| Searching for mechanisms of cumulative advantage: Accumulated labor market insecurity and recovery from health shocks in later working life Malgorzata Mikucka; abstract (PDF, 106.88 KB) |
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| Perceptions of economic insecurity: The case of the German middle classes Jessica Ordemann & Holger Lengfeld; abstract (PDF, 236.14 KB) |
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| When Facts Fail: Experimental Evidence on Perceptions and Preferences toward Chinese Investments in Germany Katharina Kaeppel, Zhexun Mo, Carsten Schröder, Li Yang; abstract (PDF, 3.56 MB) |
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| Keynote 2 (11:30 - 12:30): | Wiebke Bleidorn: Personality is stable until it isn't (Chair: Theresa Entringer, Auditorium) |
| PS 13 (13:30 - 15:00): | Personality and Preferences (Chair: Emilija Meier-Faust, Room 1.01) |
| From traits to rates: How personality shapes inflation expectations Philipp Roderweis, Alexander Toplitsch; abstract (PDF, 1.06 MB) |
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| Genes, Cognitive Skills, and Preferences Daniel Graeber, Tanaporn Maneein, and Carsten Schröder; abstract (PDF, 2.13 MB) |
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| Same but different? Measurement invariance of a Big Five short scale across multiple indicators of socioeconomic status Emilija Meier-Faust, Sandra Bohmann; abstract (PDF, 63.02 KB) |
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| PS 14 (13:30 - 15:00): | Education (Chair: Andrea Marchitto, Room 1.02) |
| Why do refugee women enter VET less often than refugee men? Decomposing the gender gap in young refugees’ transition to VET in Germany Franziska Meyer; abstract (PDF, 238.19 KB) |
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| The Impact of a School Entry Cut-off Reform on School Enrolment and Grade Repetition Victor Rudakov, Jan Marcus; abstract (PDF, 175.87 KB) |
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| Balancing Cultural Heritage and Integration: Childcare Decisions Among Second Generation Immigrants in Europe Brenda Adiwijaya, Matija Kovacic, Cristina Elisa Orso, and Daniela Sonedda; abstract (PDF, 140.21 KB) |
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| PS 15 (13:30 - 15:00): | Teleworking and Labour Market Insecurity (Chair: Francesca Verga, Room 1.03) |
| Working from Home and Psychological Detachment from Work: Representative Evidence from Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic Anaïs Breulet & Lisa Pütz; abstract (PDF, 153.82 KB) |
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| Gendered Exposure at Work and Household Specialization: Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data Osea Giuntella, Daniel Graeber, Rebecca Olthaus, Luca Stella; abstract (PDF, 122.94 KB) |
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| Teleworking and the Hours Mismatch Ludgero Glorias, Federico Pilla, and Francesca Verga; abstract (PDF, 152.18 KB) |
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| Open Science Lecture (15:30 - 16:15): |
Levent Neyse and David Albrecht (SOEP/DIW Berlin and WZB) |
The regular conference fee is 210 EUR. A reduced fee of 150 EUR applies to graduate students (including PhD). The fee covers the cost of the venue, staff, materials and merchandise, as well as drinks and snacks of the coffee and lunch breaks. Also, please consider that participants are cordially invited to join the evening event on July 8, 2026 and the farewell reception at the end of the conference on July 9, 2026.
Please register online no later than June 8, 2026 and use our online registration form. Participants registering after that date are charged an additional fee of € 30 (regular fee: € 240 and reduced fee: € 180).
We ask scholars to pay their own travel costs. If this is not possible, partial reimbursementof expenses may be provided to presenters (one grant per paper) upon request. Information on how to apply for travel support will be provided after notification of acceptance.
| Prof. Natalia Danzer, Ph.D. | Freie Universität Berlin | Empirical Labour and Demographic Economics, Gender Economics |
| Dr. Markus M. Grabka | SOEP/DIW Berlin | Income and Wealth Distributions |
| Jian Li, Ph.D. | Dongbei University of Finance and Economics | Household Finance, Capital Flows + Ageing, Financial Stability, and Innovation Economics |
| Dr. Marianna Magagnoli | SOEP/DIW Berlin |
Urban Economics, Transport Economics, Environmental Economics |
| Prof. Dr. Jan Marcus | Freie Universität Berlin | Statistics and Econometrics |
| Dr. Zahra Murad | Portsmouth University | Behavioral Economics |
| Dr. Levent Neyse | SOEP/DIW Berlin & WZB | Behavioral Economics, Replicability, Meta-Science, and Labor Economics |
| Isabella Retter | SOEP/DIW Berlin | |
| Prof. Dr. Carsten Schröder | SOEP/DIW Berlin & Freie Universität Berlin | Public Economics and Social Policy, Well-being and Risk Taking |
The 16th SOEP user conference will take place at Quadriga Campus in the centre of Berlin, not far from DIW Berlin.
Address
Quadriga Campus
Werderscher Markt 13 & 15
10117 Berlin
Directions
The Quadriga Campus is easy to reach by public transport:
Subway: U2 to Hausvogteiplatz or U5 to Museumsinsel
Tram: 12 and M1 to Am Kupfergraben
Are you traveling by car? No problem: you will find a public parking garage in the Friedrichstadt-Passagen (Taubenstraße) or in the parking garage at Operncarée (Französische Straße). Both parking garages are just a few minutes' walk from the Quadriga Campus.
Fortunately, we were able to reserve some hotel rooms in advance this year (allotments). Please read carefully how to book them and which rules apply for the booking by the certain hotel. The rooms are booked on a first come, first served basis. If you wish to change your hotel reservation, date of arrival or date of departure, we kindly ask you to contact the hotel. The pre-booked hotels offer the possibility to stay in close proximity of the conference venue.
Below we also listed some recommendations for hotels close to the venue.
In any case, please book as soon as possible after your conference registration by contacting the desired hotel directly. Prices will increase rapidly as the days of the event and summer holiday time approach.
Allotments
1. Motel One Spittelmarkt
Leipziger Straße 50, 10117 Berlin
E-mail: berlin-spittelmarkt@motel-one.com
Closest subway station: Spittelmarkt (Line U2)
Please use this booking form (PDF, 107.26 KB) and send it to: berlin-spittelmarkt@motel-one.com
booking deadline: May 12, 2026
You may cancel free of charge up to 14 days before arrival.
2. NH Collection Berlin-Mitte
Leipziger Str. 106-111, 10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 203760
Closest subway station: Stadtmitte (Line U6 and U2)
Please use this booking website to book your stay.
Booking deadline: June 30, 2026
You may cancel free of charge up to 14 days before arrival.
Hotel recommendations close to the venue
ARCOTEL John F Berlin
Werderscher Markt 11, 10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 4050460
ARCOTEL is closest to the premises, you only need 2-3 minutes to get to the event location.
TITANIC Gendarmenmarkt Berlin
Französische Straße 30, 10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 20143700
The TITANIC hotel is also very close to the event location (5 minute walk), but it is also a bit more pricy than other hotels.
Hotel Gat Point Charlie
Mauerstrasse 81-82, 10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 91733876
Hotel Gat Point Charlie is a little further away from the event location, but in walking distance of about 15-20 minutes.
Novotel Berlin-Mitte
Fischerinsel 12, 10179 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 206740
E-mail: H3278@accor.com
Novotel Berlin-Mitte is located on Fischerinsel and in walking distance to Quadriga Campus (take a walk for 10-15 minutes).
Closest subway station: Spittelmarkt (Line U2)
Space Night Capsule Hostel
Leipziger Straße 45, 10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 50953800
Guest House Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg (in German only)
Tiergartenstraße 15, 10785 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 25 456 360
E-mail: gaestehaus@lvtberlin.bwl.de
The guest house of Baden-Württemberg is located close to Potsdamer Platz and only has a very limited amount of rooms!
Next subway station: Potsdamer Platz (Line U2, S1/2)
For more hotels please check on booking.com and hrs.com
Please check the links below for information about travel to and within Berlin.
Discover the city with the help of the official Berlin website.
Getting to/from Berlin
By plane: At the site of the airport Berlin Brandenburg (BER) you will find domestic, European and intercontinental flights under one roof. There are direct flights from all major European cities to Berlin. Please check with your travel agent or visit Berlin Airport.
Local public transport from and to the airport Berlin Brandenburg (BER)
By train: For information about timetables and prices please visit bahn.de
Public transport: Buses, trains, and trams provide quick and comfortable connections throughout Berlin.
Markus M. Grabka, Marianna Magagnoli, Levent Neyse, Isabella Retter, and Carsten Schröder (program)
Patricia Axt, Janina Britzke, Maximilian Müller (conference management/knowledge transfer)
Verena Neumann (SOEP communications manager)
If you have any further questions please contact the local organizers at: soep2026@diw.de
