Household Panel Study Research Articles

Patterns of Absolute and Relative Social Mobility: A Comparative Study of England, Wales and Scotland

We use the British Household Panel Study to analyse change over birth cohorts in patterns of social mobility in England, Scotland and Wales. In several respects, our conclusions are similar to those reached by other authors on the basis of wider comparisons. There has been a large growth in non-manual employment since the middle of the twentieth century. This led first to a rise in upward mobility, but, as parents of younger people have now themselves benefited from that, has more recently forced people downward from their middle-class origins. These changes have largely not been a growth in relative social mobility: it is change induced by the occupational structure. The conclusions apply both to current class and to the class which people entered when they first entered the labour market. The patterns of relative mobility could not be explained statistically by measures of the respondents’ educational attainment. The conclusions were broadly the same for the three countries, but there was some evidence that in the youngest cohort (people born between 1967 and 1976) experience of people from Wales was diverging from that of people from England and Scotland, with rather greater amounts of downward mobility. There were two methodological conclusions. Out-migration from country of birth within the UK did not seem to make any important difference to our results. That is encouraging for analysis of surveys confined to one of the three countries, because it suggests that losing track of out-migrants would not distort the results. The second methodological conclusion is that the comparative study of social mobility can find interesting topics to investigate at social levels lower than that of the state, here the comparison of the three countries which make up Britain.

Easterlin-Types and Frustrated Achievers: The Heterogeneous Effects of Income Changes on Life Satisfaction

Most philosophers and social scientists argue that the relationship between life satisfaction and its determinants is intermediated by cultural drivers (education, race, gender, religion, regional cultural background, etc.) and that (as suggested by descriptive evidence on achievers) the relationship between changes in income and changes in life satisfaction is not necessarily positive. We investigate such relationship across the waves of the British Household Panel Study. By using a latent class approach which accounts for slope heterogeneity, omitted variable bias and departures from normality assumptions we have the unique opportunity of identifying determinants of the income-life satisfaction relationship and testing econometrically for the existence of “frustrated achievement. Our findings reveal the presence of a vast majority of Easterlin-type individuals with positive but very weak relationship between changes in income and changes in life satisfaction and a small minority (2 percent) of frustrated achievers with negative relationship. Such share is much below descriptive evidence on frustrated achievement (17.5 percent). The probability of belonging to such group is shown to be positively related with divorced status and negatively related to education and relative (personal to reference group) income. Our interpretation of these results is that the standard concave money-life satisfaction relationship provides a partial and incomplete picture of the complex nexus between life satisfaction and income as it does not take into account two important phenomena: the role of peers and of reference group income and that of the dynamics between realisations and expectations. The paradox of a negative relationship between changes in income and changes in life satisfaction may be explained by the fact that, in spite of a positive income change, the change in individual expectations and of peers income may be even higher, thereby generating the negative change in satisfaction.

Flexicurity in Bismarckian Countries? Old Age Protection for Non-standard Workers in Belgium

In the debate on ‘flexicurity’, relatively little attention has been paid to how responsive traditional areas of social security have been to increasing flexibility in the labour market. This article tries to fill this gap by focusing on the Belgian pension system. In particular, it asks to what extent pension regulation in the three pillars has been adapted to the proliferation of atypical forms of employment. It does so by examining whether there are significant differences between old age protection of standard and non-standard workers. The article pursues a double research strategy: an analysis of Belgian legislation and relevant collective labour agreements is complemented with a statistical analysis of the Panel Study of Belgian Households (PSBH). The results show that part-time employment results in a lower first-pillar pension, while other forms of temporal flexibility such as career interruptions and temporary unemployment do not. In the second pillar, our findings suggest that workers with contractual flexibility and job mobility are discriminated against. Finally, non-standard workers do not appear to compensate for lower pension protection through increased participation in the third pension pillar. Our findings suggest the need for a re-assessment of the system of ‘assimilated’ periods. To conclude, we point to some implications for the design of flexicurity policies.

The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) - Evolution, Scope and Enhancements

After the introduction in Section 2, we very briefly sketch out current theoretical and empirical developments in the social sciences. In our view, they all point in the same direction: toward the acute and increasing need for multidisciplinary longitudinal data covering a wide range of living conditions and based on a multitude of variables from the social sciences for both theoretical investigation and the evaluation of policy measures. Cohort and panel studies are therefore called upon to become truly interdisciplinary tools. In Section 3, we describe the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), in which we discuss recent improvements of that study which approach this ideal and point out existing shortcomings. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of potential future issues and developments for SOEP and other household panel studies.

Devolution and inequality: a failure to create a community of equals?

This paper assesses the impact of devolution within the United Kingdom on household equality in terms of both income and social inclusion, with particular focus on the two most established examples of devolution – Scotland and Wales. Uniquely this paper provides the first quantitative assessment of devolution in the UK. Using British Household Panel Study data it suggests that devolution appears to have had no discernable impact on income inequality. An influence on social inclusion can be detected but is suggested to have been both weak and temporary in relation to other regions within the UK. The paper concludes with explanations for the paucity of devolution's impact on equality.

Social determinants of health inequalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

To examine the social determinants of inequalities in health in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the post-conflict period, and to test if the relative effects vary across the two entities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. Cross-sectional data come from the first wave of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Household Panel Study conducted in 2001, which collected data from 7482 respondents aged 17 years and older based on over 3000 households. Distributions and odds ratios for physical limitations and poor mental well-being were calculated over a number of known social determinants. Multivariate logistic regression and t-tests were used to compare risks across entities within the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The prevalence of poor mental well-being and physical limitations was significantly higher in the Republika Srpska. Significant differences in poor mental well-being and physical limitations were observed across most determinants within each entity, but only a few of these relative effects differed between entities. Efforts to tackle absolute differences in poor health between the entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina should be pursued, along with reducing social inequalities.

The Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) and its Member Country Household Panel Studies

The Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) and its Member Country Household Panel Studies

Determinanten van loopbaanpatronen

Determinants of career patterns Determinants of career patterns Career patterns are no random phenomena. They are influenced by numerous external factors. Using a typology of career patterns for the period 1992-2000, based on the data of the Belgian Household Panel Study, this article focuses on determinants that can explain the diversity of career patterns on the labour market. The focus in the analysis lies on individual characteristics and life course determinants. By means of a multinomial logistic regression the question is answered whether the career pattern depends on personal and life course characteristics. The group of employees who frequently change jobs or regime are compared with the group who knew a stable, fulltime career pattern. A similar analysis tests whether those who interrupt their career (by unpaid activity, unemployment or because of invalidity/illness) differ from those with a stable fulltime career pattern. The results show strong gender related career types but also explain differences between careers based on life course events. Having children in interaction with the partner status strongly determines the career pattern. The analysis clearly shows that the life course and the followed career pattern are inextricable connected.

Pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects of self-employment survival

We examine the factors that determine self-employment duration in Britain, paying particular attention to self-reported job satisfaction variables and non-pecuniary aspects of self-employment. Based on spell data from the British Household Panel Study, we estimate single-risk and competing-risks hazard models, separately for males and females. Our results show that job satisfaction is indeed a strong predictor of self-employment exit, even after controlling for standard economic and demographic variables. When five domain job satisfaction measures are used, we find that pay, job security and initiative are the three aspects of self-employment most valued by the self-employed themselves. Gender differences regarding the determinants of self-employment survival and exit destination states are also evident.

The earnings of informal carers: Wage differentials and opportunity costs

A substantial proportion of working age individuals in Britain are looking after sick, disabled or elderly people, often combining their work and caring responsibilities. Previous research has shown that informal care is linked with substantial opportunity costs for the individual due to forgone wages as a result of non-labour market participation. In this paper we show that informal carers exhibit further disadvantages even when participating. Using the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) we decompose wage differentials and show that carers can expect lower returns for a given set of characteristics, with this wage penalty varying along the pay distribution and by gender. Furthermore, opportunity costs from forgone wages and wage penalties are estimated and found to be substantial.

The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) - Scope, Evolution and Enhancements

After the introduction in Section 2, we very briefly sketch out current theoretical and empirical developments in the social sciences. In our view, they all point in the same direction: toward the acute and increasing need for multidisciplinary longitudinal data covering a wide range of living conditions and based on a multitude of variables from the social sciences for both theoretical investigation and the evaluation of policy measures. Cohort and panel studies are therefore called upon to become truly interdisciplinary tools. In Section 3, we describe the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), in which we discuss recent improvements of that study which approach this ideal and point out existing shortcomings. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of potential future issues and developments for SOEP and other household panel studies.

Explaining Income Nonresponse – A Case Study by means of the British Household Panel Study (BHPS)

Many validation studies deal with item nonresponse and measurement error in earning data. In this paper, we explore motives of respondents for the failure to reveal earnings using the British Household Panel Study (BHPS). The BHPS collects socio-economic information of private households in Great Britain. We explain the evolution of income-nonresponse in the BHPS and demonstrate the importance of a discrimination between refusing the income-statement or don’t know.

The chicken or the egg?: Endogeneity in labour market participation of informal carers in England

Around 14% of the UK labour force has informal care responsibilities and almost everyone in society will be an informal carer in their lifetime. A well-known fact in the small economic literature on informal care is the apparent negative relation between care responsibilities and labour market participation. Yet, caring and labour market participation may be endogenous. Using an instrumental variable approach and panel data techniques and employing data from the British Household Panel Study from 1991 to 2002, this paper shows that not accommodating for endogeneity in the labour market participation equation may significantly overestimate the impact care exhibits on the employment decision of informal carers. Moreover, it is shown that a negative impact on employment only applies to some care-types. Policy implications are derived.

Public-Private Sector Pay Differentials in a Devolved Scotland

The public-private sector wage gap in Scotland in 2000 is analysed using the extension sample of the British Household Panel Study (BHPS). Employing a switching regression model, and testing for double sample selection from the participation decision and sector choice, the wage gap is shown to be 10 % for males and 24 % for females. For males this is mainly due to differences in productive characteristics and selectivity, while for females the picture is more ambiguous. Findings also suggest that there exists a male private sector wage premium. While there is no evidence of a sample selection bias for females, the sector choice of males is systematically correlated with unobservables. Furthermore, the structural switching regression indicates that expected wage differentials between sectors are an important driving force for sectoral assignment.

Parental Divorce and Depression

Experiencing a parental divorce in childhood can have a significant impact on depression in adulthood. Investigating this relationship among 4,727 men and women of the Panel Study of Belgian households, we found not only a direct influence of parental divorce on depression, but also an indirect effect through specific relationship characteristics in adulthood. Separate analyses of respondents involved in a partner relationship yielded similar results: Parental divorce has a large impact on depression through relationship commitment and financial measures in adulthood. These Belgian results support international studies.

Multiple Role Occupancy and Social Participation among Midlife Wives and Husbands in the United Kingdom

We investigated the relationship between intensive multiple role occupancy and one key dimension of well-being, social participation (i.e., frequency of participation in social and leisure activities and meeting friends or relatives). Moreover, we examined gender differences in the association between individual, spousal and couple intensive multiple role commitments and individual social participation. Our research is based on a sample of mid-life wives (45-59) and their husbands from the 2000 British Household Panel Study (BHPS). Our findings show that, among wives whose husbands were providing care to a dependent for 20 or more hours a week, there was a negative association with social and leisure activity participation, whereas husbands' level of participation in social and leisure activities was higher if their wives were in full-time paid work. We also found lower odds of meeting friends or relatives among wives and husbands in full-time employment, and higher odds of meeting friends and relatives among wives providing care for 20 or more hours a week. Our results will aid policy thinking in addressing how people can be best supported to balance work and family commitments in order to optimize different dimensions of well-being in later life and help alleviate the pressures associated with multiple-role occupancy in mid-life.

De pensioenbescherming van flexibele werknemers in België

Old age protection of flexible workers in Belgium Old age protection of flexible workers in Belgium This article investigates to what extent the Belgian pension system is adapted to the proliferation of a-typical forms of employment. Are there any differences between the old age protection of flexible and non-flexible workers? What are the effects of flexible employment on participation in the three pension pillars and on the level of pension benefits? To answer these questions, the article pursues a double research strategy: an analysis of Belgian legislation and relevant collective labour agreements is complemented with a statistical analysis on the Panel Study of Belgian Households (PSBH). The analyses show that part-time employment results in a lower pension, while other forms of temporal flexibility such as temporary leave arrangements and temporary unemployment do not. In the second pillar we find that contractual and transitional flexible workers are discriminated. Finally, the results indicate that flexible workers do not compensate for lower pension protection through increased participation in the third pension pillar. Our findings suggest that a re-assessment of the system of ‘assimilated’ periods is required, as well as the development of a system of coordinated regulation for the three pension pillars.

Relationele kenmerken en echtscheiding in België: een analyse op basis van de Panel Studie van Belgische Huishoudens

In spite of the skyrocketing divorce rates in Belgium over the last decennia, empirical research on the determinants of marriage dissolution has remained relatively scarce. In this article, we want to gain greater insight into the relational determinants of divorce. Using data from the 1992-2002 Panel Study of Belgian Households, the influence of relational and fertility characteristics, like marital age and duration, premarital cohabitation and presence of children, are investigated. After controlling for the effects of general socio-demographic factors on the risk of marriage dissolution, our analysis endorses the positive effect of premarital cohabitation and the negative effect of duration of marriage. Also, it seems that relational determinants provide the most explanatory power in the prediction of the risk on divorce. Premarital childbirth and age of children show surprising effects however, indicating a possible disconnection between the institute of marriage and the fertility career.

Unipolar depression in the Belgian population

Although elaborate studies have considered gender differences in depression and a possible narrowing of this gender gap, one wonders if any longitudinal trends in Belgium exist to contribute to the discussion. This study makes use of data from 1992 to 1999 of the panel study of Belgian Households (PSBH), a longitudinal database with yearly surveys that includes 3,546 longitudinal respondents (1,612 men and 1,933 women). Depression is measured according to a modified version of the Health and Daily Living Form (HDL) that contains 13 depression items. Introducing latent variable growth curve modelling, a longitudinal representative sample of the Belgian population acknowledges the existence of a gender gap in depression and, regardless of age, sex, educational attainment, work loss or divorce, a general upward trend in depression. Another conclusion is the lack of evidence regarding a narrowing of this gender difference. Instead, we see a slightly larger growth rate in depression for the female respondents. The instrument used to measure depression not only captures gender differences adequately, but the scale itself is significantly reproducible over the entire 8-year period. The overall conclusion of this study is that, regardless of socio-demographic differences, we can witness an upward trend of depression in Belgium between 1992 and 1999.

Spatial Scale and the Neighbourhood Effect: Multinomial Models of Voting at Two Recent British General Elections

Few studies of the neighbourhood effect in British voting patterns have addressed the important issue of spatial scale: at what level do these effects operate (if any), and do they operate simultaneously at more than one? Using the British Household Panel Study data, to which information on the characteristics of the population in the areas around each individual respondent's home have been added, this article finds significant differences in the propensity of individuals to vote either Conservative or Liberal Democrat rather than Labour at two neighbourhood levels as well as at the regional level.