Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Spatial overlap: trade-offs in refugees' residential choices

Social science research gives rise to what we call the 'refugee mobility puzzle': While restrictions on the freedom of residence limit refugees' socio-economic integration, those who do not face such restrictions often move to areas with high unemployment that similarly hinder their labor market prospects. This study addresses a central element of this puzzle: What draws refugees to ...

SHARE Corona Survey 2 Questionnaire Adaptations

Technical report on the 2022 IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP survey-" Ukrainian refugees in Germany"(Wave 1)

Rental Market Risk and Radical Right Support

A growing literature examines how economic threat affects support for anti-establishment parties. While most existing work focuses on transforming labor markets as a source of anxiety, we advance the literature by studying changes in urban development and rent price appreciation. Our analysis examines the case of Germany, the country with the highest share of rental housing in the European Union. Combining ...

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 ...

Does the Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care Centers Mitigate the Risk of Externalizing Problems? A Genetic-Sensitive Study of Preschoolers in Germany

This paper examines the extent to which quality characteristics of early childhood education and care (ECEC) experienced at ages 4–6 influence externalizing problems at ages 6–8. Based on a random sample of 713 same-sex twins (55% female, 41% with a migration background) in 364 ECEC centers in Germany, the paper not only distinguishes between detailed ECEC quality characteristics but additionally investigates ...

Mobility after job loss in Germany: the effects of regional economic opportunities and economic worries on mobility intentions and behaviour

This study examines the impact of local economic opportunity structures on mobility intentions and mobility behaviour subsequent to involuntary job loss in Germany. Previous research has demonstrated that job loss leads to an increased propensity for regional mobility; however, the role of the regional economy as a push factor and its influence on the decision to relocate remains unclear. The focus ...

Breathing unequal air: environmental disadvantage and residential sorting of immigrant minorities in England and Germany

Despite ongoing debates on environmental justice, the link between selective residential migration and the unequal exposure to environmental hazards remains underexplored. Previous research has often relied on spatially aggregated data and focused on single-country analyses, limiting our understanding of broader patterns. We address this gap using longitudinal household-level data from the UK Household ...

The Tied-Mover Penalty and the Gender Earnings Gap

Job changes often require workers to relocate. However, many workers are not isolated agents but live in couples who make location decisions jointly. When relocation occurs due to a job change by the "main" earner, the other partner becomes a "tied mover" who is likely to benefit less from the move; typically, the latter is the woman, and the "tied-mover penalty" then ...

Spatial earnings inequality

Earnings inequality in Germany has increased dramatically. Measuring inequality locally at the level of cities annually since 1985, we find that behind this development is the rapidly worsening inequality in the largest cities, driven by increasing earnings polarisation. In the cross-section, local earnings inequality rises substantially in city size, and this city-size inequality penalty has increased ...