This study was prepared by Martin Schlotter while he was working with the Ifo Institute for Economic Research. It was completed in June 2011 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Econcomics at the University of Munich in November 2011. It addresses the effects of different early...

How do institutional factors and their interaction with individual resources influence the length of mothers’ interruption durations after childbirth and return-to-work behaviour? This thesis answers this question from a family sociology and labour market perspective, and concentrates on how...

Manifold childhood impressions result from the interactions with adult caregivers and the environment. These impressions, be they beneficial or detrimental, shape individual skill formation and achievement over the life cycle. The novelty of the paper is that it bonds two different, hitherto...