Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Differences in work-related attitudes between Millennials and Generation X: Evidence from Germany

Millennials' Public Service Motivation and Sector Choice: A Panel Study of Job Entrants in Germany

The construct of public service motivation (PSM) has gained a lot of attention as a motivational force for joining the public sector. However, since its introduction by Perry and Wise (1990), research based on longitudinal data linking PSM with actual behavior, i.e. joining the public sector, has remained scarce, particularly with respect to Germany. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel ...

Fertility progression in Germany: An analysis using flexible nonparametric cure survival models

Objective: This paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to study the transition to second and third births. In particular, we seek to distinguish the factors that determine the timing of fertility from the factors that influence ultimate parity progression. Methods: We employ cure survival models, a technique commonly used in epidemiological studies and in the statistical literature ...

Unemployment and portfolio choice: Does persistence matter?

Households can rely on private savings or on public unemployment insurance to hedge against the risk of becoming unemployed. These hedging mechanisms are used differently across countries. In this paper, we use a life cycle model to study the effects of unemployment on the portfolio choice of households in the US and in Germany. We distinguish short- and long-term unemployment and find that, in case ...

Unemployed - and Unwilling to Work?

Income Growth in German Households - East Germany Falls Behind

Five Years after the Reform of the Social and Unemployment Benefits in Germany

Great expectations were connected with the so-called Hartz IV reform which came into effect five years ago. In fact the number of unemployed recipients of Hartz IV benefits drastically went down during the last economic rebound. In earlier economic cycles the number of unemployed recipients of social benefits had stagnated in phases of recovery. But this alone is only a weak sign for success: Firstly, ...

School-to-Work Linkages, Educational Mismatches, and Labor Market Outcomes

A recurring question in public and scientific debates is whether occupation-specific skills enhance labor market outcomes. Is it beneficial to have an educational degree that is linked to only one or a small set of occupations? To answer this question, we generalize existing models of the effects of (mis)match between education and occupation on labor market outcomes. Specifically, we incorporate the ...

Mind the gap—German motherhood risks in figures and game theory issues

After childbirth, while parents are delighted at public cash transfers like the German ‘Elterngeld’ (parental leave benefit), the decline in mothers’ earnings capacity is an awkward issue that tends to hover in the background. This paper aims firstly to make a contribution to quantifying West German mothers’ foregone gross earnings that stem from intermittent labor market participation, due to the ...

It's not all about parents' education, it also matters what they do. Parents' employment and children's school success in Germany

In this paper, we use SOEP data to explore whether parents’ employment has an extra effect on the school achievement of their children, beyond the well‐established effects of education, income and demography. First, we test whether the source of income or parents’ unemployment determine children’s school achievements. Second, we analyze the effect of job prestige and factors of societal engagement ...