Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

How to measure and proxy permanent income: evidence from Germany and the U.S

Permanent income (PI) is an enduring concept in the social sciences and is highly relevant to the study of inequality. Nevertheless, there has been insufficient progress in measuring PI. We calculate a novel measure of PI with the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Advancing beyond prior approaches, we define PI as the logged average of 20+ years of post-tax ...

Nearly universal, but somewhat distinct: The feminization of poverty in affluent Western democracies, 1969-2000

Party to Inequality: Right Party Power and Income Inequality in Affluent Western Democracies

Much social science suggests that income inequality is a product of economic and demographic factors and recent work highlights the influence of Leftist politics in affluent Western democracies. But, prior research has neglected rightist politics. We examine the impact of cumulative right party power on three measures of income inequality in an unbalanced panel of 16 affluent Western democracies from ...

Time-discrete Nonparametric Survival Analysis Using Panel Data

Time-discrete nonparametric hazard model using panel data

Minimum Wages and Female Labor Supply in Germany

In Germany, there is a vivid political debate on introducing a general statutory minimum wage. In this paper, we study the effects of minimum wages on labor supply using a structural household model where we distinguish between married and single households. In the model, labor supply of married women reacts positively and relatively strongly to minimum wages which we model as a wage subsidy as proposed ...

Less Alimony after Divorce – Spouses’ Behavioral Response to the 2008 Alimony Reform in Germany

The 2008 alimony reform in Germany considerably reduced post-marital and caregiver alimony. We analyze how individuals adapted to these changed rulings in terms of labor supply, the intra-household allocation of leisure, and marital stability. We use the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and conduct a difference-in-difference analysis to investigate couples’ behavioral responses to the reform. The ...

Factor Components of Inequality: Cross-Country Differences and Time Changes

Nonpersistent Inequality in Educational Attainment: Evidence from Eight European Countries

In their widely cited study, Shavit and Blossfeld report stability of socioeconomic inequalities in educational attainment over much of the 20th century in 11 out of 13 countries. This article outlines reasons why one might expect to find declining class inequalities in educational attainment, and, using a large data set, the authors analyze educational inequality among cohorts born in the first twothirds ...

Long-term Trends in Educational Inequality in Europe: Class Inequalities and Gender Differences

Using data for seven European countries we analyse trends among women in class differences in educational attainment over the first two-thirds of the 20th century. We also compare educational attainment between men and women; we ask whether class differences among the two sexes are similar or not; and whether trends in class differences over birth cohorts have differed between men and women. We find ...