Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Unbezahlte Arbeit und ihre gesellschaftliche und ökonomische Einordnung. Eine jährliche Berechnung für Deutschland von 2012 bis 2021

Wealth and Family Formation: Insights from First Cohabitation, Marriage, and Birth in Germany

Existing research has demonstrated that wealthier individuals differ in family formation. Potential explanations draw on wealth’s use and symbolic value as well as the relative economic bar of family formation. This study examines the relationship between wealth and three family formation events in Germany: first cohabitation, marriage, and birth. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002–2017) ...

When You’re Down and Out: Who Benefits from Volunteering in Old Age?

Theoretical considerations suggest that volunteering contributes to retirement adjustment because it compensates for role losses following retirement. However, the idea that mental health benefits of volunteering are stronger after retirement than prior to retirement has been hardly tested empirically. Moreover, it remains open to question who benefits from volunteering in retirement in particular. ...

With Great Prestige Comes Great Responsibility: The Role of Occupations in Shaping Employee Behavior

What compels a doctor to volunteer at a makeshift clinic in a remote village? Why do lawyers from elite firms devote hundreds of hours to pro-bono cases? These examples illuminate how occupations shape behavior beyond formal job requirements. As careers become increasingly defined by occupational rather than organizational membership, understanding the occupational forces that shape discretionary behaviors ...

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 ...