This paper proposes a comprehensive, path-independent decomposition formula of changes into ceteris paribus effects and interaction effects. The formula implies a reassessment of sequential decomposition methods that are widely used in the literature and that are restrictive in how they treat...

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), this paper analyzes the dynamics of equivalent income in Germany in the eighties and nineties. Special emphasis is given to the separation of permanent and transitory components, the persistence of transitory shocks and their implications...

Applying a method suggested by Woodruff (1971), we derive the sampling variances of Generalized Entropy and Atkinson inequality indices when estimated from complex survey data. It turns out that this method also greatly simplifies the calculations for the i.i.d. case when compared to previous...

We use income satisfaction data in order to estimate equivalence scales. Our method differs from previous attempts to use satisfaction data for this purpose in that it can be used to estimate or evaluate any given parametric equivalence scale. It can also be employed to investigate specific...

Based on a multiple spells approach, this paper studies the extent and the composition of chronic poverty in Germany. The results indicate that about one third of cross-sectional poverty in a given year is chronic. The characteristics that are most closely associated with long-term poverty are...

We examine the causes for rising income inequality in Europe’s most populous economy. From 2000 to 2006, Germany experienced an unprecedented rise in net equivalized income inequality and poverty. At the same time, unemployment rose to record levels and there was evidence for a widening...

Using a sample of prime-aged men from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), this paper examines the effects of past poverty experience on future poverty status, future employment status and household composition. The empirical results suggest that even after controlling for observed and...