Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Entry into self-employment and individuals’ risk-taking propensities

Most of the existing empirical literature on self-employment decisions assumes that individuals’ risk-taking propensities are stable over time. We allow for endogeneity on both sides when examining the relationship between individual risk-taking propensities and entry into self-employment. We confirm that a greater risk-taking propensity is associated with a higher probability of entering self-employment. ...

Peer effects in risk preferences: Evidence from Germany

This study uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to analyze peer effects in risk preferences. Empirical evidence on the impact of peer groups on individual willingness to take risks (‘peer effects’) is very limited so far as causality is hard to establish. To establish a causal relationship between individual and community risk preferences, we use an instrumental variables approach where we ...

Languages and language policies in Germany / Sprachen und Sprachpolitik in Deutschland

Deutschlands (einzige) nationale Amtssprache ist das Deutsche. Die Dominanz des Deutschen in Schulen, Politik, Rechtswesen, Verwaltung sowie im gesamten (schriftlichen) öffentlichen Leben ist so groß, dass das Fehlen einer kohärenten Sprachpolitik lange Zeit nicht als Problem empfunden wurde. Die staatliche Zurückhaltung in diesem Bereich hat einerseits historische Gründe; sie wurde andererseits durch ...

How People Know their Risk Preference

People differ in their willingness to take risks. Recent work found that revealed preference tasks (e.g., laboratory lotteries)—a dominant class of measures—are outperformed by survey-based stated preferences, which are more stable and predict real-world risk taking across different domains. How can stated preferences, often criticised as inconsequential “cheap talk,” be more valid and predictive than ...

Envy in mission-oriented organisations

We study how envy affects screening contracts offered to employees who care about the mission of the organisation and differ in ability, which is their private information. We show that organisation’s mission plays a critical role. In sectors where mission is important, despite receiving higher wages than their less talented colleagues, high-ability workers perceive their contract as unfair because ...

Women with children first? Parenthood, policies, and gender gaps in three European labour markets

Parenthood divides today the careers of women and men. A family gap has emerged in labour markets: Women pay economic and career prices for motherhood, while the career progression of men marches on come fatherhood. Gender inequality in paid work persists despite institutional change aimed at mitigating it or curbing it altogether. Labour market and welfare institutions have variously departed from ...

Environmental Inequality in Germany

Though environmental inequality research has gained extensive interest in the United States, it has received far less attention in Europe and Germany. The main objective of this book is to extend the research on environmental inequality in Germany. This book aims to shed more light on the question of whether minorities in Germany are affected by a disproportionately high burden of environmental pollution, ...

SOEP Annual Report 2019

Four Essays on the Economics of Education and Inequality

This dissertation includes four essays on the economic analysis of education and inequality. The first essay shows that, between 1993 and 2013, the income share of housing expenditures in Germany increased strongly for the bottom income quintile and fell for the top quintile. These trends are driven by a decline in the costs of homeownership versus renting, changes in household structure, and residential ...

Everyday Experiences in the SOEP Innovation Sample (EE-SOEP-IS): A Multi-Method Study