Using data from the long-running German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2008, this paper analyses the effects of individual preferences and choices on subjective well-being (SWB). It is shown that preferences and choices relating to life goals/values, partner's personality, hours of work,...

Set-point theory has dominated the field of subjective well-being (SWB). It has served as a classic Kuhn research paradigm, being extended and refined for thirty years to take in new results. The central plank of the theory is that adult set-points do not change, except just temporarily in the...

In general child care subsidies are widely accepted as a means to create equal chances for mothers in the labour market as well as for children. Although there is a general consensus that the use of child care should be publicly supported, there is no consensus on how this should be done....

Staatlich organisierte Altersvorsorgesysteme, die in Umlage finanziert werden (in Deutschland ist dies die gesetzliche Rentenversicherung [GRV]), bedürfen einer expliziten Regelung, wie hoch die Renten sein sollen bzw. wie die laufenden Renten den veränderten ökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen...

This paper presents two new tools for the identification of faking interviewers in surveys. One method is based on Benford?s Law, and the other exploits the empirical observation that fakers most often produce answers with less variability than could be expected from the whole survey. We focus...

"Soziale Dienste" wie die institutionalisierte Kinderbetreuung werden in Deutschland vorwiegend vom Staat selbst bzw. von frei-gemeinnützigen Trägern angeboten. Für die Nutzung dieser sozialen Dienste werden dabei in der Regel Gebühren verlangt, die unterhalb der tatsächlichen Kosten...