This paper discusses how household panels in general - and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) in particular - can serve as reference data for researchers collecting datasets that do not represent the full universe of the population of interest (e.g., through clinical trials, intervention...

Today, Germany's citizens are happier on average than at any other point in time since reunification. Even though more than 20 years have passed, the average level of happiness in eastern Germany is still significantly lower than that in western Germany. This is demonstrated by the most recent...