Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Income Inequality and Self-rated Health Status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel

We examine the effect of income inequality on individuals’ self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 11 countries, using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modeling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this ...

The effect of face-to-face interviewing on personality measurement

In recent years, an increasing number of nationally representative surveys in the social sciences and economics have implemented the Big Five model of personality. While many personality inventories were originally developed in the context of self-administered questionnaires, they are often used by large surveys in face-to-face interview settings instead. Drawing on an experimental research design, ...

How a Universal Music Education Program Affects Time Use, Behavior, and School Attitude

It is still widely debated how non-cognitive skills can be affected by policy intervention. For example, universal music education programs are becoming increasingly popular among policy makers in Germany and other developed countries. These are intended to give children from poor families the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Moreover, policymakers present these programs as innovative policies ...

Developing skills through non-formal learning activities: Four essays in the economics of education (Dissertation)

Chapter 2: Despite numerous studies on skill development, we know little about the effects of extracurricular music activities on cognitive and non-cognitive skills. This study examines how music training during childhood and youth affects the development of cognitive skills, school grades, personality, time use and ambition using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Our findings suggest ...

Education and vocational training of Italian Migrants in Germany - The role of family social capital in the creation of human capital

Migration networks and migration decision-making

Drawing on the rational choice approach and the economic sociology of migration, this article discusses the role of social networks in terms of location-specific social capital. It discusses relations between sociological and economic aspects of migration and outlines the influence of social capital on migration decision-making and chain migration processes. There have been various attempts to measure ...

Migration and Statistics

The field of empirical migration and integration research is characterised by a wide range of research questions, theoretical approaches and data sets. Research based on official statistics has to deal with different data sets on migration and foreign population resulting in different numbers. Developments in official statistics concentrate on the improvement of data quality. The census 2010/2011 or ...

Migration and Statistics

The field of empirical research on migration and integration encompasses a wide range of research questions, theoretical approaches, and datasets. Research based on official statistics has to deal with diverse datasets for information on migration and foreign populations, resulting in miscellaneous statements. Recent developments in official statistics have concentrated on the improvement of data quality. ...

Problems of Poverty and Social Security Reform in Germany

Problems of the German Welfare State after Unification