Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Supporters of Germany’s far-right AfD party are concerned about immigration rather than feeling deprived

Is concern about immigration sufficient to account for the increasing success of Germany’s right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)? Or does socio-economic deprivation also matter? Using German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data from 2014 to 2024, we find that concern about immigration alone accounts for about 75 percent of explicable variation in AfD support and even for 90 percent ...

Family first: the causal effect of family size on cultural participation

Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we estimate how having children affects parents’ participation in arts, high- and lowbrow cultural activities, and sports. Identification combines three complementary, well-established strategies: (i) an event-study design around first births; (ii) twin births as exogenous shocks to second and third births; and (iii) sex-composition ...

Households on the move. Simulating the allocation of the population distribution across dwellings

The construction and use of living space require substantial amounts of energy and resources, and generate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Historically, the increase in total living space has largely offset improvements in building shell efficiency and heating technologies. Average per-capita space continuously rises due to developments such as smaller household sizes, a preference for single-family ...

The impact of dual VET on the unemployment rate of young adults after the financial crisis: a comparison between Germany and the United States

This paper examines whether dual VET enhances labour market resilience for young adults in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Using harmonised microdata from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) for the United States, linked via the Comparative Panel File (CPF), we compare unemployment among 25- to 34-year-olds whose highest attained qualification ...

Generational variation and life‑course accumulation of social inequalities in all-cause mortality in Germany: a cohort-sequential study

Social inequalities in mortality persist as a public health challenge across Europe, including Germany, despite significant health gains. Research shows a lasting social gradient in survival. However, comprehensive longitudinal evidence on cohort and life-course dynamics is limited. We examine trends in social inequalities in all-cause mortality, cohort differences, and whether cumulative low-SES exposure ...

Impact of subsidized childcare on maternal employment: A comparative study on native and migrant women in Germany

This study explores the impact of subsidized childcare on maternal employment, focusing on the heterogeneous effects of Germany's Childcare Funding Act (2013) on native and first- and second-generation migrant mothers. Despite lower childcare use and higher unemployment rates among migrant women, research on this topic has been limited. Using the SOEP dataset from 2010 to 2019 and a triple difference ...

German Economy on the Upswing - Global Economy Continues to Grow Moderately

After three years of subdued economic activity, the German economy is on the road to recovery. While the Iran war and erratic U.S. trade policy are weighing on growth, their impact is only moderate. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that U.S. tariffs are unlawful, this does not change the tariff rates imposed on German exports, as the agreement with the European Union is assumed to remain in ...

Are the children of homeowners increasingly advantaged? Trends in relative and absolute mobility of homeownership in Europe. European Sociological Review

Social origin, the class ceiling in earnings, and job task segregation: Evidence from Germany

Social class origin is closely linked to individuals' labor market outcomes. This study examines the class ceiling—the earnings disadvantage that those from lower-class origins experience within higher-class occupations. We propose that job task segregation, i.e., the non-random selection into different task profiles within granular occupations, contributes to the class ceiling. We study these ...

The Role of Settlement Intentions (Un-)Certainty in the Labour Market Integration of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany

This article examines how (un-)certainty in settlement intentions affects the socio-economic integration of Ukrainian refugees in Germany, using longitudinal data from the IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP survey. Applying an instrumental variable approach, we estimate the effects of permanent, temporary, and uncertain settlement intentions on employment, employment aspirations, and host-country language proficiency. ...