Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Deindustrialisation and the polarisation of household incomes: The example of urban agglomerations in Germany

The tertiarisation, or perhaps more accurately, the deindustrialisation of the economy has left deep scars on cities. It is evident not only in the industrial wastelands and empty factory buildings, but also in the income and social structures of cities. Industrialisation, collective wage setting, and the welfare state led to a stark reduction in income differences over the course of the 20th century. ...

Changes in Earnings Inequality - An International Perpective

Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality

Empirical Evidence on Income Inequality in Industrialized Countries

This chapter reviews the evidence on cross-national comparisons of annual disposable income inequality in over 20 wealthy nations. We begin by reviewing a number of conceptual and measurement issues which must be addressed by any cross-national comparison of survey-based household income data. With these caveats in mind, we present data on both the level of inequality during the early to mid-1990s, ...

On the Evaluation of Economic Mobility

Growth in Unemployment Raises Poverty Rates: Most low-wage earnings constitute supplement to primary household income

Increased unemployment has led to growing poverty. Earnings inequality has increased but most earners are 'working poor'

Natural Disaster, Policy Action, and Mental Well‐Being: The Case of Fukushima

We study the impact of the Fukushima disaster on people’s mental well‐being in another industrialized country, more than 5000 miles distant. The meltdown significantly increased environmental concerns by 20% among the German population. Subsequent drastic policy action permanently shut down the oldest nuclear reactors, implemented the phase‐out of the remaining ones, and proclaimed the transition to ...

How natural disasters can affect environmental concerns, risk aversion, and even politics: evidence from Fukushima and three European countries

We study the impact of the Fukushima disaster on environmental concerns, well-being, risk aversion, and political preferences in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. In these countries, overall life satisfaction did not significantly decrease, but the disaster significantly increased environmental concerns among Germans. One underlying mechanism likely operated through the perceived risk of a similar ...

More direct losers than winners from the 2005 unemployment reforms