We consider the interaction between the risk of unemployment, random house prices, consumption and savings. A critical decision is that of refinancing house purchase, up to 100% mortgages are possible. There is also a fixed transaction cost of refinancing. In a CARA framework we derive the value...

The interaction between housing wealth, the financial portfolio of the consumer and consumption is a live issue. Life cycle models with closed form solutions under uncertainty are hard to find. In this paper we find analytical solutions for the effects of house price uncertainty and employment...

This paper analyses the optimal refinancing decision of an agent whose only asset in the portfolio is the house where she lives in the context of a life-cycle model. The mortgage is modelled as an adjustable rate contract covering the remaining life of te house owner. Thus, refinancing concerns...

Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that paternal unemployment has a surprisingly positive causal effect on the "Big 5" personality traits of children aged 17 to 25. In particular, our results from longitudinal value-added models for personality suggest...

We empirically assess the relationship between cultural assimilation and subjective well-being of immigrants by using the German Socio-Economic Panel, a longitudinal dataset including information on both the economic and non-economic conditions of the respondents. We find that the more...

By allowing people to obtain divorce without the consent of their spouse, Unilateral Divorce Laws (UDLs) increase the risk of divorce. Using the staggered introduction of UDLs across European countries, we show that households exposed to UDLs for longer time accumulate more savings. This effect...

In this paper we estimate the effect of early life health on home care use later in life, and we analyse whether this effect is mediated through household composition. We use Dutch administrative data on men born in 1944-1947 who were examined for military service between 1961-1965 and we link...