In this paper we exploit a cohort specific pension reform to estimate the causal employment effect of changes in the financial incentives to retire. In particular we analyze the effect of the introduction of pension deductions for early retirement on female employment. For the empirical analysis...

Germany introduced a new mandatory insurance for long-term care in 1995. It replaced a system based on means-tested transfers. The new scheme made it easier for households to draw benefits and to organize informal care. We exploit this reform as a natural experiment and examine its effect on the...

Numerous studies analyze gender wage differences focusing on gross hourly wages. The analysis of differences in gross wages allows statements on productivity differences between men and women and to quantify the unexplainable wage gap which is often attributed to discrimination. While there is...

In this paper, we analyze how life expectancy-driven redistribution of income through a defined pension benefit system impacts on inequality in annual consumption. Our analysis combines a methodology that quantifies life expectancy-driven redistribution through the pension system with a...

In 2012, the subsidy for electricity produced by wind turbines - introduced with the Renewable Energy Act (REA) in Germany 2000 - amounts to almost 14 billion Euros or roughly 100% of the corporate income tax revenue. The central aim of this subsidy is to foster investment into renewable energy...

We use social security records to document heterogeneity in life expectancy by lifetime earnings and we analyze how this longevity gap has evolved over cohorts. We provide evidence that the earnings-related longevity gap is increasing over cohorts in West Germany. Further, we propose a...

We specify and estimate a dynamic structural life-cycle model of labor supply, retirement and savings decisions of single-adult and couple households. Drawing on our model, we study the interplay between family labor supply and public insurance mechanisms. By including family labor supply, we...