Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Symbols -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Background -- 2.1 Related Literature -- 2.2 Historical Background -- 3 Empirical Strategy and Data -- 3.1 Empirical Strategy -- 3.2 Data -- 3.2.1 Geography --...

We quantify the value of changes in life circumstances in Germany following reunification. To this end, we develop and implement a fixed-effect estimator for ordinal life satisfaction in the German Socio-Economic Panel. We find strong negative effects on life satisfaction from being recently...

In this paper we test the Rational Expectations hypothesis using longitudinal data on expectations and realizations of individual welfare for East Germans in the years following reunification. German reunification was unexpected and delivered a large shock to the future prospects of the...

We quantify the value of changes in life circumstances in Germany following reunification. To this end, we develop and implement a fixed-effect estimator for ordinal life satisfaction in the German Socio-Economic Panel. We find strong negative effects on life satisfaction from being recently...