Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Pre-migration socioeconomic status and post-migration health satisfaction among Syrian refugees in Germany: A cross-sectional analysis

Background: The large increase in numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany and most of Europe has put the issue of migration itself, the integration of migrants, and also their health at the top of the political agenda. However, the dynamics of refugee health are not yet well understood. From a life-course perspective, migration experience is associated with various risks and changes, which ...

Econometric Analysis of the Wealth Gap between East and West Germany

Nearly 25 years after the German reunification, vastly different living conditions between East and West Germany still remain. This is particularly true for the distribution of net wealth which is of special importance for the well-being of individuals. Wealth provides utility in a number of ways, for instance, by acting as a buffer against negative income shocks. Using the wealth component of the ...

Income Effects of Disability Benefits

We provide novel evidence about the incentive and welfare effects of an increase in the generosity of disability benefits. Importantly, a unique policy variation in Germany allows us to isolate the income effect of a change in benefit generosity. We leverage this quasi-experimental policy variation using an RD design to estimate the effect of increasing disability benefits on employment, earnings, ...

In Reply: Letters to the Editor Attitudes Toward Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination in Germany A Representative Analysis of Data From the Socio-Economic Panel for the Year 2021

Shlomo Yitzhaki (1944–2023): In Memoriam

Left Behind Together and Voting for Populism: Regional Out-Migration, Civic Engagement and the Electoral Success of Populist Radical Right Parties

According to the academic debate, the populist radical right is particularly successful in regions that have been left behind economically or culturally. Although civic engagement in networks of civil society, a specific form of social capital, seems important, its influence remains ambiguous. In contrast, regional out-migration as a social dimension of being left behind receives limited attention ...

Place of Residence Does Matter for Educational Integration: The Relevance of Spatial Contexts for Refugees' Transition to VET in Germany

For the mostly young refugees who arrived in Germany around 2015/2016, completing vocational education and training (VET) represents the most promising opportunity for professional and social integration. However, access opportunities to VET are characterized by spatial inequalities: German districts vary considerably according to labour market structure, economic productivity and demographic development, ...

Parental leave policies, work (re)entry, and second birth: Do differences between migrants and non-migrants in Germany increase?

The paper investigates migrant–nonmigrant differentials over time among women in Germany after their first childbirth; we look at the transitions to paid work or to a second child. Our observation period covers almost 30 years, in which family policies changed substantially. Most notably, the year 2007 marked a shift in (West) Germany’s parental leave policy from a conservative family model to a policy ...

Exploring contextual effects of post-migration housing environment on mental health of asylum seekers and refugees: A cross-sectional, population-based, multi-level analysis in a German federal state

Asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) in Germany are dispersed quasi-randomly to state-provided, collective accommodation centres. We aimed to analyse contextual effects of post-migration housing environment on their mental health. We drew a balanced random sample of 54 from 1 938 accommodation centres with 70 634 ASR in Germany’s 3rd largest federal state. Individual-level data on depression and anxiety ...

Are Men or Women More Unsettled by Fixed-Term Contracts? Gender Differences in Affective Job Insecurity and the Role of Household Context and Labour Market Positions

This study investigates differences in the causal effect of fixed-term contracts on affective job insecurity by gender and household context in Germany. Research shows that workers in fixed-term employment are more unsettled about their job security than are permanent employees. We contribute to the literature on subjective job insecurity by explicitly modelling the causal effect of fixed-term employment ...