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...

Given the importance of the early stage of a child`s life and taking into account that there various initiatives underway to improve preschool programs in German, it is remarkable that there are only a few microdatasets covering the field of preschool education in Germany - even less if the...

In the United Kingdom a group has been established to help ensure that the right data resources are created and made available to help inform the important choices that decision makers need to make. The group is the UK Data Forum. The members of the Forum come from national research councils,...

The paper briefly surveys available data sources and discusses future developments relevant for empirical public finance in Germany. It starts from the notion that public finance deals with decisions of various agents, not only governments, but also private households and firms. Therefore,...

The availability of well-educated researchers is necessary for the fruitful analysis of social and economic data. The increased data offer made possible by the creation of the Research Data Centers (RDCs) has resulted in an increased demand for PhD students at the master’s or Diplom levels....

Social scientists have ignored biological constraints of human behavior for a long time almost completely. If prediction of behavior is considered as essential for a social science. The neglect of any variable, which might influence human behavior, is hardly justified. Therefore, this paper...

Falling response rates and the advancement of technology have shaped the discussion in survey methodology in the last few years. Both led to a notable change in data collection efforts. Survey organizations try to create adaptive recruitment and survey designs and increased the collection of...