Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Commission Staff Working Paper "Draft Joint Inclusion Report" - Statistical Annex (COM(2003)773 final)

Noncognitive Skills, Internet Use and Educational Dropout

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 2000 to 2006 we analyze the determinants and labor market effects of educational dropout. In addition to classical variables like family background and occupation, we examine noncognitive skills and Internet use. Noncognitive skills and Internet availability at home are negatively associated with the probability of becoming an educational ...

Noncognitive Skills, School Achievements and Educational Dropout

We analyse the determinants of dropout from secondary and vocational education in Germany using data from the Socio-Economic Panel from 2000 to 2007. In addition to the role of classical variables like family background and school achievements, we examine the effect of noncognitive skills. Both, better school grades and higher noncognitive skills reduce the risk to become an educational dropout. The ...

Maternal employment and child care decision

When estimating the determinants of child care participation, the simultaneity in mothers' decision to work and in the decision to use child care is a major challenge. We provide first evidence on the determinants of institutional child care use addressing the endogeneity of mothers' labor supply by applying an instrumental variables approach. This endogeneity has often been neglected in ...

The Effect of Unemployment on Life Satisfaction: A Cross-National Comparison Between Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States

This paper investigates the effect of unemployment on life satisfaction from a comparative perspective. It also tests whether the link between unemployment and life satisfaction is moderated or reinforced by contextual unemployment across regions within a country—either through a negative spillover or a positive social-norm effect, or both. The results suggest that noticeable non-pecuniary costs are ...

Adult Social Capital and Track Placement of Ethnic Groups in Germany

Longitudinal Evidence for a Midlife Nadir in Human Well-being: Results from Four Data Sets

There is a large amount of cross-sectional evidence for a midlife low in the life cycle of human happiness and well-being (a ‘U shape’). Yet no genuinely longitudinal inquiry has uncovered evidence for a U-shaped pattern. Thus, some researchers believe the U is a statistical artefact. We re-examine this fundamental cross-disciplinary question. We suggest a new test. Drawing on four data sets, and only ...

Assessing the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures: results from three large samples

Purpose: The present paper assessed the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures by comparing single-item measures to the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)—a more psychometrically established measure. Methods: Two large samples from Washington (N = 13,064) and Oregon (N = 2,277) recruited by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a representative German sample (N = 1,312) recruited ...

When does money matter most? Examining the association between income and life satisfaction over the life course

Previous research shows that the correlation between income and life satisfaction is small to medium in size. We hypothesized that income may mean different things to people at different ages and, therefore, that the association between income and life satisfaction may vary at different points in the life course. We tested this hypothesis in 3 nationally representative panel studies. Multilevel modeling ...

Immigrant Voters, Taxation and the Size of the Welfare State

This paper studies the impact of immigration on public policy setting. As a natural experiment, we exploit the sudden arrival of eight million forced migrants in West Germany after World War II. These migrants were on average poorer than the West German population, but unlike most international migrants they had full voting rights and were eligible for social welfare. Using panel data for West German ...