Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Probing buccal-customized epigenetic clocks to investigate socioeconomic and health disparities

Epigenetic clocks are emerging as promising tools for examining social and health disparities. These measures are typically developed using blood DNA methylation (DNAm) data. Cheek swabs, being less invasive than blood collection, can be used to assay buccal DNAm. This study examines how buccal-originated epigenetic clocks relate to socioeconomic status (SES) and health, and compares these associations ...

Does having daughters affect political preferences? A high-powered meta-analysis of many surveys

This study examines whether having daughters affects political preferences and if effects vary across European countries. We estimate effect sizes for 39 countries in the European Social Survey (n = 156,236) and aggregate estimates using random-effects meta-analysis, following a preregistered analysis plan. We find significant evidence that having daughters increases the preferences for gender equality ...

Heterogeneity in gender differences in self-reported political preferences, trust, and well-being across 39 European countries

Previous research suggests that women tend to self-report higher life satisfaction and happiness, lower health status and trust, and more left-leaning political preferences than men. We revisit the gender gap in these outcome variables using random-effects meta-analysis, aggregating data across 39 countries surveyed in the European Social Survey (n ≈ 500,000). Measured in Cohen’s d units, women, on ...

A Bounding Approach to Age–Period–Cohort Analysis: A Demonstration Using Public Crime Concerns in Germany

In this paper, we present an application of a bounding approach to age–period–cohort (APC) analysis, recently developed by Fosse and Winship (2019), offering a transparent and assumption-aware alternative to commonly used identification strategies. Specifically, we apply the method to evaluate long-term trends in public concern about crime in Germany, addressing whether observed changes reflect genuine ...

Wrong Fit, Missed Gains? Evidence from Skill Training Choices in Liberia

Young job seekers commonly misperceive training returns; we test whether these beliefs misalign choices between two widely offered tracks—job-skills and business-skills training for young women in Liberia. We reassign 30 percent of the applicants from an oversubscribed job-skills program to business-skills and compare them to applicants who remain in their preferred track. In the short run, reassigned ...

Family structures, childcare and school attendance

From parenthood to planet care? The evolution of environmental and climate concerns during family formation

We examine the effect of childbirth on parents’ environmental and climate concerns, focusing on potentially dynamic changes in concerns within a time span of 2 years before and up to 10 years after birth. Additionally, we explore the effect of heterogeneities by gender and educational attainment. Using long-running survey data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP, 1984–2020, N = 108,340) ...

Between integration and return: Ukrainian refugees' wishes to stay in Germany

Too worried about the environment to have children? Or more worried about the environment after having children?

Amid rising concerns about climate change, in recent years, demographers have increasingly examined whether environmental concerns have become a factor in shaping reproductive intentions and outcomes. However, little is still known about the potentially reciprocal relationship between environmental concerns and fertility, in part due to the lack of longitudinal analyses of sufficient temporal scope. ...

Should I buy or should I go? The effect of the big five personality traits and satisfaction with life on E-bike ownership in Germany

A prerequisite for sustainable mobility is the move away from fossil fuels. In addition to the transportation sector and public transport, the electrification of individual transport also contributes to the mobility transition. In the present study, we conducted exploratory structural equation modelling using data (n = 14,008) from a large-scale nationwide household panel in Germany to investigate ...