Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Simultaneous Probit Models for Non-Metric Panel Data: State Dependence vs. Habit Persistence in Employment Status

Specification and Estimation of Mean Structures: Regression Models

Varieties of Affluence: How Political Attitudes of the Rich Are Shaped by Income or Wealth

Sociological research often uses income as the only indicator to describe or proxy the group of the rich. This article develops an alternative framework in order to describe varieties of affluence as three-dimensional: depending on income, wealth, and origin of wealth. The relevance of such a multidimensional perspective for social outcomes is demonstrated by analysing the heterogeneity in political ...

On the economics of sickness absence and presenteeism (Thesis)

This thesis deals with economic aspects of employees' sickness. In addition to the classical case of sickness absence, in which an employee is completely unable to work and hence stays at home, there is the case of sickness presenteeism, in which the employee comes to work despite being sick. Accordingly, the thesis at hand covers research on both sickness states, absence and presenteeism. The ...

Sickness Absence and Works Councils: Evidence from German Individual and Linked Employer–Employee Data

Using both household and linked employer-employee data for Germany, we assess the effects of non-union representation in the form of works councils on (1) individual sickness absence rates and (2) a subjective measure of personnel problems due to sickness absence as perceived by a firm's management. We find that the existence of a works council is positively correlated with the incidence and the ...

Political culture still divided 25 years after reunification?

In 1990, during reunification, West German democratic institutions and the existing political party system were expanded to the East German states. Even after 25 years, the people of eastern and western Germany still differ in their political engagement and attitudes. However, these differences do not apply across the board by any means. A detailed analysis of survey data from the Socio-Economic Panel ...

Typical Employment Subject to Mandatory Social Security Contributions Remains the Norm

Since the 1980s, in West Germany has been a substantial decline in the number of people of working age who are not in paid employment. Accordingly, the share of 18- to 67-year-olds without a job has also fallen. This increase in employment figures primarily benefited those in marginal employment or solo entrepreneurs and had less of an impact on those in typical employment. In fact, the present analysis ...

Alternative Approaches to Discrete Working Time Choice in an AGE Framework

We compare two options of integrating discrete working time choice of heterogenous households into a general equilibrium model. The first, known from the literature, produces household heterogeneity through a working time preference parameter. We contrast this with a model that directly incorporates a logit discrete-choice approach into a AGE framework. On the grounds of both calibration consistency ...

Language discrimination in Germany: when evaluation influences objective counting

Language attitudes matter; they influence people’s behaviour and decisions. Therefore, it is crucial to learn more about patterns in the way that languages are valued. One means of doing so is using a quantitative approach with data representative of a whole population, so that results mirror dispositions at a societal level. This kind of approach is adopted here, with a focus on the situation ...

Languages and language policies in Germany / Sprachen und Sprachpolitik in Deutschland

Deutschlands (einzige) nationale Amtssprache ist das Deutsche. Die Dominanz des Deutschen in Schulen, Politik, Rechtswesen, Verwaltung sowie im gesamten (schriftlichen) öffentlichen Leben ist so groß, dass das Fehlen einer kohärenten Sprachpolitik lange Zeit nicht als Problem empfunden wurde. Die staatliche Zurückhaltung in diesem Bereich hat einerseits historische Gründe; sie wurde andererseits durch ...