One common feature of all empirical wage curve studies is the underlying assumption that the unemployment rate is the natural indicator of labor market tightness. However, we observe that in many European countries governments spend remarkable amounts on labor market training programs. As...

Es wird ein Überblick über das Erhebungsdesign der ersten Welle der SOEP Teilstichproben A (West-Deutsche), B (Ausländer) und C (Ost-Deutsche) gegeben. Weiterhin werden die Weiterverfolgungsregeln des SOEP beschrieben. Die Entwicklung der Fallzahlen wird getrennt für die Teilstichproben im...

Es wird ein Überblick über das Erhebungsdesign der ersten Welle der SOEP Teilstichproben A (West-Deutsche), B (Ausländer) und C (Ost-Deutsche) gegeben. Weiterhin werden die Weiterverfolgungsregeln des SOEP beschrieben. Die Entwicklung der Fallzahlen wird getrennt für die Teilstichproben im...

This study examines the relationship between individual risk aversion and reservation wages using a novel set of direct measures of individual risk attitudes from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). We find that risk aversion has a significantly negative impact on the level of reservation...

In an open-shop model of trade union membership with heterogeneity in risk attitudes, a worker's relative risk aversion can affect the decision to join a trade union. Furthermore, a shift in risk attitudes can alter collective bargaining outcomes. Using German panel data (GSOEP) and three novel...

In Germany, there is no trade union membership wage premium, while the membership fee amounts to 1% of the gross wage. Therefore, prima facie, there are strong incentives to freeride on the benefits of trade unionism. We establish empirical evidence for a private gain from trade union membership...

In Germany, dependent employees take almost 30 days of paid vacation annually. We enquire whether an individual's trade union membership affects the duration of vacation. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the period 1985 to 2010 and employing pooled OLS-estimators, we...

The study reports comprehensively about further vocational training activities in the context of regular employment relationships in western and eastern Germany. In a comparative analysis of the participants in and the structure of further vocational training special emphasis is placed on a...

This paper investigates if and how confidence at the individual level changes over the course of a life. We provide age profiles of a novel continuous confidence measure and the probability of overconfidence, conditioning on personality traits (including the Big Five and optimism), economic...

We use the separation and later reunification of Germany after World War II to show that a political regime shapes time preferences of its residents. Using two identification strategies, we find that former residents of the German Democratic Republic exhibit a significantly less pronounced...