Socio-Economic Panel Research Articles

Holding the door slightly open: Germany's migrants' return intentions and realizations

AbstractReturn migration intentions are complex and are not necessarily followed by future return migration. This study compares successful return or repeated migration with self‐declared return intentions. It takes advantage of the latest and unique German Socio‐Economic Panel (SOEP) survey dropout studies and fieldwork to observe a wider return migration window than reported in the literature to answer the question of whether return migration intentions eventually coincided with actual emigration behaviours. Moreover, return migration estimates are examined over this long‐observed return window. This empirical analysis explores (1) whether return intentions eventually materialize, (2) whether they can eventually predict actual return behaviours and (3) whether the determinants of actual and predicted return based on intentions are similar. Overall, my results support that migration intentions can predict actual return behaviour. While the underlying results show discrepancies in the predictors of return intentions and those of actual returns, they show emigration intentions as significant predictors of actual future emigration. Moreover, the findings suggest that life satisfaction significantly correlates with the individual intention to remigrate. Both effects are highly significant.

Does education promote risk-taking? Evidence from Vietnam

PurposeThis study examines the impact of schooling on risk perceptions and the moderation role of a non-cognitive skill, locus of control.Design/methodology/approachUsing information from the Thailand Vietnam Socio Economic Panel data set, the study employs Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) to address the potential endogeneity problem of the schooling variable.FindingsThe findings indicate that a higher level of willingness to take risks is correlated with additional schooling years. In other words, those with higher levels of education are more prone to take more risks. The result demonstrates that the association between education and risk attitudes is moderated by locus of control.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature on education in emerging countries by addressing the endogeneity problem of schooling variables using the GMM method. Moreover, this study examines the mediating role of personal non-cognitive skills, namely locus of control, in the relationship between education and risk attitudes.

The long-term implications of destruction during the Second World War on private wealth in Germany

AbstractBy the end of the Second World War, an estimated 20% of the West German housing stock had been destroyed. Building on a theoretical life-cycle model, this paper examines the persistent consequences of the war for individual wealth across generations. As our empirical basis, we link a unique historical dataset on the levels of wartime destruction in 1739 West German cities with micro data on individual wealth at the beginning of the twenty-first century from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Among individuals born in cities or villages that were badly damaged during the Second World War, wealth is still about 10% lower today. Similarly, the destruction of parental birthplace has significant negative implications for the wealth of their descendants. These negative implications are robust after controlling for a rich set of pre-war regional and city-level control variables. In complementary empirical exercises, we study potential channels such as inheritances, health, and education, through which the wartime destruction could have affected wealth accumulation across generations.

A longitudinal perspective to migrant health: Unpacking the immigrant health paradox in Germany

Previous research finds that recent immigrants are healthier than the native-born, while more established immigrants exhibit worse health, suggesting a process of unhealthy assimilation. However, previous literature is mostly based on cross-sectional data or on longitudinal analyses similarly failing to disentangle individual-level variation from between-individual confounding. Moreover, previous longitudinal studies are often limited in their study of different health outcomes (few and mostly subjective health), populations (sometimes only elderly individuals), time periods (short panels) and geographical contexts (mostly Australia, Canada and USA). We address these limitations by comparing the health trajectories of adult immigrants and natives in Germany over extended periods, using data from years 2002–2021 of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and investigating a wide range of health outcomes, including self-assessed physical and mental health measures, diagnosed illnesses, and health behaviors. We employ a longitudinal approach that stratifies immigrants by age at arrival, and compares them to natives of the same age. This allows us to estimate both Hierarchical Linear Models and more rigorous Fixed Effects models to further address confounding. Cross-sectionally, we confirm previous literature's findings: recent immigrants are healthier than natives and established immigrants. Longitudinally, we find support for the unhealthy assimilation hypothesis concerning subjective health and mental health, but not for the others health indicators or behaviors. We interpret these findings as possible evidence of immigrants' reduced access to timely health care and emphasize the need for greater longitudinal research investigating migrant gaps in various health outcomes.

Does the German sports system recruit coaches with a functional personality?—Attempting an answer by comparing German basketball coaches with teachers and managers

Currently, there is no theory that identifies the ideal personality type for sports coaches. The study’s goal is to gain insight into the personalities of German basketball coaches and use existing study results from other professional groups to make recommendations for the content of coaches’ education. Given the German Olympic Sports Federation’s emphasis on comprehensive coach education that includes personal development, this paper examines the relationship between a coach’s vocation and personality, filling in knowledge gaps about how coaches’ personalities appear. The analyses are based on a unique dataset of 360 German basketball coaches and data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), allowing for a more in-depth comparison of coaches’ Big Five personality traits. Using SOEP data from the German general population, teachers, and managers as benchmarks, this paper investigates the relationship between different coaching license levels and distinct personality profiles, providing insights into the characteristics displayed by coaches at various professional levels. The analysed data indicate that lower coaching licence levels are associated with lower neuroticism and more agreeableness, whereas openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion are higher. When comparing coaches to the general population and other occupational groups, A‑license coaches have more characteristics that are similar with managers, whilst C‑license coaches have more parallels with teachers. Furthermore, examining particular traits and individual comparisons, it is transparent that C‑license coaches are more agreeable than A‑license coaches. The findings suggest that coach development programs should be improved by incorporating insights from teachers and managers to select coaches and update educational paradigms more carefully. The study emphasizes the importance of traits such as conscientiousness and agreeableness in coaching success and identifies potential areas for intervention to maximize coaching efficacy. In conclusion, this study adds to our empirical understanding of the complex relationships between personality traits, professional roles, and effective coaching on multiple levels. Furthermore, it emphasizes the dynamic relationship between an individual coach’s intrinsic disposition and professional efficacy, showing the importance of tailored interventions to improve coaching outcomes.

Transit-oriented development and effective supply on the tenant-occupied multifamily housing market in Washington, DC

ABSTRACT A range of socioeconomic factors, including income distribution, productivity and land use policies, are thought to influence the development of contemporary multifamily housing markets in the United States. Focusing on Washington, DC, as a case study, we use data from the American Community Survey to assemble socioeconomic panel datasets for the years 2010–2019. Through spatial regression analysis, we explore which socioeconomic measures and land use policies are associated with the effective supply of tenant-occupied multifamily housing. We interpret our findings considering issues such as displacement, lessor habit formation, demographic shifts and the uneven growth of transit-oriented housing in DC's current housing landscape.

Correction: Cohort profile: Genetic data in the German Socio-Economic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-G)

Correction: Cohort profile: Genetic data in the German Socio-Economic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-G)

Can We Explain the Generation Gap in Churchgoing?

Can We Explain the Generation Gap in Churchgoing?

Widening Educational Inequalities in Physical Health Due to the Obesity Trend?-A Mediation Analysis Using the German Socio-Economic Panel Study.

This study examined the contribution of obesity to the development of educational inequalities in physical health. We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the period 2002-2020. Physical health was measured with the modified SF12-questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were applied to estimate time trends. The Relative Index of Inequality (RII) and the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) were calculated to examine educational inequalities. The role of obesity as a mediator was analyzed using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method. Over time, educational inequalities in obesity as well as impaired physical health widened in men and women, particularly among those aged 30-49years. For individuals with a low level of education at this age, the probability of impaired physical health increased significantly by 7.7%-points in women and 9.4%-points in men. Of this increase, 25.9% for women and 14.8% for men could be attributed to the increase in obesity. Our findings suggest that the steeper rise in obesity among individuals with a low level of education partly explains the observed widening in educational inequalities in physical health.

Wage outcomes after temporary employment in Germany and the UK: Taking within- and between-employer transitions into account

This study investigates wage outcomes of former temporary workers by distinguishing workers obtaining permanent jobs with the same employer from those who find permanent work with a new employer. With this distinction, we build on studies investigating the wage consequences of temporary jobs, which have thus far mainly focused on cross-sectional wage gaps and longer-term wage consequences without considering employer changes. We compare Germany and the UK as two prime examples of different labour market settings and look at labour market subgroups relevant for social stratification. We estimate fixed effects individual slopes regression with data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1995–2021), the British Household Panel Study (1992–2008), and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2010–2021). Results show that in the rigid German and in the more flexible UK labour market, wage increase of former temporary workers is larger if the permanent job is obtained with the same employer, but only if it coincides with a job change within the firm. For transitions occurring on the same job, only workers in Germany experience wage increase. This wage increase is not higher compared to the wage increase of workers who switch employers. These patterns are similar across subgroups, with the largest deviances found for older workers in Germany.

Personality and regional innovativeness: An empirical analysis of German patent data

This paper brings together the literature on regional variability in innovation activity with studies on the role of personality for regional innovativeness. Building on regionally aggregated levels of individual Big Five personality traits obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Big Five Project, we find that only extraversion has a positive effect on patenting in German regions. This effect is particularly strong in the case of lagging regions. We interpret this finding as an indication of the compensatory role of collaboration for the innovativeness of lagging regions characterized by low levels of business research and development (R&D) and a dominance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which demonstrates the need for place-sensitive policies that consider different modes of innovation and emphasize interregional and intraregional learning.

Spatio-temporal analysis of the driving factors of urban land use expansion in China: A study of the Yangtze River Delta region

Abstract Urban land use dynamics play a key role in the sustainable development of rapidly urbanizing regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China. In this study, we employed geospatial and statistical methods comprising remotely sensed data, Geographic Information Systems, and the Spatial Durbin model to examine the complex changes in urban land uses. These techniques allowed for a broader assessment of the evolving urban landscape, emphasizing the significance of considering spatial relationships and socioeconomic panel data in the study area. The result indicated a substantial increase in built-up land within the YRD, rising from 6.83% in 2000 to 12.29% in 2020. This growth predominantly occurred at the expense of agricultural land, forests, and water bodies, with agricultural areas contributing over 90.2% to the built-up land expansion. The eastern cities experienced a more noticeable urban expansion compared to the western cities. The findings revealed a positive spatial spillover effect among neighboring cities, indicating a significant spatial clustering of built-up land. Population and urbanization emerged as primary drivers influencing both local and neighboring built-up land expansions. However, economic development, fixed asset investment, and transportation networks influenced the local areas of the YRD region but acted as inhibitors for the growth of neighboring areas. The result also suggests that industrial structures effectively curb local built-up land expansion without adversely affecting neighboring areas. These findings contribute to the existing knowledge by providing a wider understanding of land uses within the YRD region and valuable policy recommendations for sustainable urban planning in similar rapidly urbanizing areas.

Regional differences and trends in healthy life expectancy in Germany

Against the background of increasing life expectancy, the question arises in which state of health the additional years of life are spent. The aim of this study is to assess for the first time regional differences in healthy life expectancy for Germany. The concept of healthy life expectancy allows for the combination of regional differences in health status and mortality in asingle measure. This article uses the concept of partial healthy life expectancy. We use official data on deaths and population numbers to calculate abridged life tables. Data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) are used to determine the age- and sex-specific prevalences of health status. Regional differences are analyzed from 2002 to 2019 by dividing Germany into four regions (North, South, East, West). The regional differences in healthy life expectancy in Germany are greater than differences in life expectancy, and trends in healthy life expectancy partly differ from the corresponding trends in mortality. These differences over time also vary according to age: while healthy life expectancy has tended to stagnate and, in some cases, decline among the population aged between 20and 64, the number and proportion of years in good health has increased among older adults up to the age of79. There are striking regional differences and trends in the distribution of expected years in good health in Germany. The timely identification of regionally divergent developments could facilitate the implementation of targeted health-promoting measures.

Returns to work following retirement in Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom

Abstract Most unretirement research has focused on single countries, indicating that socio-economic advantage and financial need predict unretirement in particular settings. Remarkably, little is known about whether the frequency and predictors of unretirement—returning to paid work after ceasing work at retirement—vary in relation to the country setting. We followed recent retirees over time in Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom to compare unretirement rates and predictors, and whether financial need predicted unretirement in a middle-income setting rather than in a high-income setting. We harmonized data ex post from four prospective surveys: German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1991–2016), Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (1994–2016), and for the United Kingdom, British Household Panel Survey (1991–2008), and Understanding Society (2010–2015). Unretirement was examined using Cox regression in relation to gender, age, education, health, household income, and financial difficulties. After 20 years of follow-up, the cumulative hazard of unretirement attained 0.20 in German, 0.24 in British, and 0.40 in Russian participants. Unretirement rates were generally higher for retirees who were younger, in better health and had higher household income. Worries about finances did not predict unretirement in Russia; such concerns predicted higher unretirement rates only in fully adjusted models in Germany and the United Kingdom. Since retirees in financial need may have difficulties finding suitable jobs, unretirement is a process with the potential to deepen financial inequality in later life. Variations in unretirement rates and predictors across countries demonstrate the importance of extending unretirement research to incorporate a cross-national comparative perspective.

Becoming a parent: Trajectories of family division of labor in Germany and the United States

The transition to parenthood represents a turning point shaping couples’ arrangements for paid work and housework. Previous studies often examined these changes in isolation, rather than as interrelated trajectories reflecting diverse models of family division of labor. Drawing on data from different-sex couples from the 1984–2019 Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the 1984–2020 German Socio-Economic Panel, this study uses multichannel sequence analysis to identify four and three patterned constellations of family division of labor in the United States and Germany, respectively. These constellations differ in women’s and men’s respective contributions to household earnings and their relative participation in housework, spanning from one year before to ten years after the birth of a first child. National differences are found in the identified constellations, their prevalence, and the role of couples’ conjoint education in shaping these constellations. In both countries, couples in which the husband has an educational advantage are most likely to transition to a traditional arrangement. However, only in the U.S. do couples with both partners holding a college degree also tend to enter a traditional arrangement. Furthermore, among U.S. couples in which the wife has an educational advantage, they are most likely to adopt a partly egalitarian arrangement (equal earnings but not housework) upon becoming parents.

Trend Effects of Being in Care, from Early to Late Adulthood: A Comparative Look at Adults Who Were in Residential or Foster Care As Children and Those Who Did Not Experience Out-Of-Home Care

ABSTRACT While there is a growing body of research suggesting that care leavers experience disadvantages in early adulthood. There is only one study at hand, that use panel data to analyze long term effects. Based on this idea, we examine data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), covering a 50-year period, and use matching methods to compare care leavers who have been in residential care or lived with foster parents to a control group. The results indicate that being placed in out-of-home care is associated with disadvantages in terms of unemployment, life satisfaction and health. The results regarding satisfaction with leisure vary, and no clear picture emerges here. Differences in health are more relevant in late adulthood. Differences between residential care leavers and their peers are more stable over time than differences between former foster children and their peers.

The introduction of a minimum wage in Germany and the effects on physical activity participation

The relationship between income and physical activity has been extensively studied. This paper utilizes the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany in 2015 as a quasi-experiment to determine the causal effect of minimum wages on the frequency of physical activity participation. Employing survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel between 2013 and 2017, regression-adjusted difference-in-difference models combined with matching techniques are estimated. Our findings reveal a notable negative effect immediately after the minimum wage implementation on physical activity frequency. Given that the introduction of the minimum wage did not increase monthly gross income but reduced working hours, it appears that affected individuals exhibit preferences and engage in utility maximization that do not emphasize healthy behaviors. This effect is particularly pronounced among older females in white-collar occupations.

Family structure transitions and educational outcomes: Explaining heterogeneity by parental education in Germany

Recent research has documented that the effect of parental separation on children’s educational outcomes depends on socioeconomic background. Yet, parental separation could lead to a stable single-parent family or to a further transition to a stepfamily. Little is known about how the effect of family structure transitions on educational outcomes depends on the education of parents and stepparents, and there has been limited empirical research into the mechanisms that explain heterogeneity in the effects of family transitions. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and models with entropy balancing and sibling fixed effects, I explore the heterogeneous effects of family transitions during early and middle childhood on academic secondary school track attendance, grades and aspirations. I find that family transitions only reduce the academic school track attendance among children of less educated parents living in stepfamilies or with a single mother after parental separation, and among children of highly educated fathers living in single-mother families. The mechanisms that partly explain these effects relate to reduced income and exposure to poverty after parental separation. The findings underscore the importance of considering the stepparent's educational level, indicating that the adverse consequences of parental separation on educational outcomes are mitigated when a highly educated stepfather becomes part of the family. Overall, these findings align more closely with the resource perspective than the family stability perspective.

Partnership Dynamics of LGB People and Heterosexuals: Patterns of First Partnership Formation and First Cohabitation

In this study we examine partnership dynamics among people with different sexual orientations in Germany. More specifically, we explore the process of first partnership formation and first cohabitation among men and women who self-identify as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Given the various discriminations against same-sex lifestyles, and the limited opportunities to meet potential partners, we assume that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people form partnerships later in life and less frequently than heterosexuals. We further expect that the constantly improving social and legal climate for sexual minorities will lead to a reduction in differences in partnership behaviour by sexual orientation. We use retrospectively reported partnership biographies from the German Socio-Economic Panel, which was supplemented in 2019 with a boost sample of sexual and gender minority households. Using discrete-time event history models, we analyse nearly 15,000 episodes of being single and nearly 20,000 episodes of living without a partner in the household. Around 4.5% of these episodes are from people who self-identify as LGB. The results clearly show that patterns of partnership and coresidential union formation differ by sexual orientation. People with a homosexual orientation—and to a lesser extent people with a bisexual orientation—are less likely to enter into a first partnership and a first cohabitation than people with a heterosexual orientation. Significant changes occur across cohorts: LGB people from younger birth cohorts enter (cohabiting) partnerships much earlier and more frequently than those from older cohorts. Thus, the union formation patterns of LGB and straight people have converged slightly.

Socialism and the Modernization Hypothesis

In Europe, people from post-Soviet countries tend to hold more negative attitudes toward immigration than people from Western societies. This pattern is also evident in the former East and West Germany. In line with the modernization hypothesis, previous research shows that worldviews have become more liberal across generations in Western societies over the last century. This study examines whether such processes of liberalization have taken place at a different pace in Western societies and in post-Soviet societies. To this end, I assess whether changes in attitudes toward immigration across birth cohorts differ between residents of post-Soviet countries and inhabitants of other types of welfare states. Using data from the European Social Survey, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, and the German General Social Survey, this study shows that the pattern of later-born cohorts holding more liberal attitudes toward immigration is less pronounced in post-Soviet states than in other types of welfare states. These findings have implications for research on attitude change over time and the long-term persistence of communist practices, behaviors, values, and norms.