Christoph Wunder

The welfare use of immigrants and natives in Germany: the case of Turkish immigrants

Purpose - This paper aims to analyze the welfare use of Turkish immigrants and natives in Germany. The authors ask whether the immigrant-native gap in welfare use can be explained by observable characteristics, whether the mechanisms behind welfare dependence differ for Turkish immigrants and natives, and, finally, they compare the situation before and after the 2005 reform of the German welfare system. Design/methodology/approach - Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, the authors estimate linear probability models with random effects to investigate the correlates of transfer receipt for Turkish immigrants and natives. Findings - Turkish immigrants have a higher propensity to use welfare benefits than natives. After controlling for general individual and household level characteristics, the difference in welfare receipt is statistically significant only for the group of second generation immigrants. The correlation of observable characteristics with welfare dependence differs significantly for the native and immigrant sample. The share of benefit recipients increased after the policy reform in 2005 for both immigrants and natives. Practical implications - First, as human capital and particularly labor market status are important determinants of welfare use, training programs designed for the special needs of immigrants might support their labor market integration. Second, measures to ameliorate the integration of older people into the labor market might be particularly useful because the need for welfare benefits arises particularly at the 50-60 age range. Originality/value - This is the first study to investigate welfare use of Turkish immigrants after the German 2005 labor market policy reform.

Working Time Preferences, Hours Mismatch and Well-Being of Couples: Are There Spillovers?

We analyze how well-being is related to working time preferences and hours mismatch. Selfreported measures of life satisfaction are used as an empirical approximation of true wellbeing. Our results indicate that well-being is generally lower among workers with working time mismatch. Particularly underemployment is detrimental for well-being. We further provide first evidence on spillovers from the partner’s working time mismatch. However, the spillover becomes insignificant once we control for the partner’s well-being. This suggests that well-being is contagious, and the spillover is due to interdependent utilities. Females experience the highest well-being when their partner is working full-time hours. Male wellbeing is unaffected over a wide interval of the partner’s working hours.

Patterns of Welfare Dependence Before and after a Reform: Evidence from First Generation Immigrants and Natives in Germany

This paper studies the patterns of welfare dependence among first generation immigrants and natives in Germany before and after a substantial recent reform of the welfare system. Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study, the analysis presents life cycle trajectories of transfer receipt for immigrants and natives and studies the correlation between contextual factors and transfer receipt. We find no statistically significant differences in the probability of transfer receipt between immigrants and natives once socioeconomic characteristics are taken into account. Being a single parent, labor market status, and human capital are most closely correlated with the incidence of transfer receipt for both natives and immigrants. Interestingly, recent welfare reforms did not reverse prior patterns of welfare dependence.

Well-Being over the Life Span: Semiparametric Evidence from British and German Longitudinal Data

This paper applies semiparametric regression models using penalized splines to investigate the profile of well-being over the life span. Splines have the advantage that they do not require a priori assumptions about the form of the curve. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the analysis shows a common, quite similar, age-specific pattern of life satisfaction for both Britain and Germany that can be characterized by three age stages. In the first stage, life satisfaction declines until approximately the fifth life decade. In the second age stage, well-being clearly increases and has a second turning point (maximum) after which well-being decreases in the third age stage. Several reasons for the three-phase pattern are discussed. We point to the fact that neither polynomial functions of the third nor the fourth degree describe the relationship adequately: polynomials locate the minimum and the maximum imprecisely. In addition, our analysis discusses the indistinguishability of age, period, and cohort effects: we propose estimating age-period models that control for cohort effects including substantive variables, such as the life expectancy of the birth cohort, and further observed socioeconomic characteristics in the regression.

The Effects of Smoking Bans on Self-Assessed Health: Evidence from Germany

The 16 German federal states introduced smoking bans on different dates during 2007 and 2008. These bans restricted smoking in enclosed public places, particularly in restaurants and bars. This study examines the effects of smoking bans on self-assessed health. Using data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), difference-in-differences estimations provide evidence for health improvements for the population at large. Health benefits from the secondhand smoke-free environment are equivalent to an increase in household income of approximately 30%. Further subgroup analyses show that health improvements are largest among young non-smokers (below 30 years) whereas smokers report no or even adverse health effects in response to bans. Exploiting differences in the dates of introduction and enforcement, we find no evidence that the effects of bans depend on enforcement measures.

What (If Anything) Do Satisfaction Scores Tell Us About the Intertemporal Change in Living Conditions

This paper looks at the information content of satisfaction scores. It is argued that the information content depends on the extent to which people adapt to living conditions in general. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the estimation of a dynamic panel data model provides evidence that adaptation takes place within a relatively short window of time: changes in living conditions are, for the most part, absorbed by an adjustment of the adaptation level within one year. This leads to the conclusion that the information content of satisfaction scores accentuates recent changes in living conditions. Remote changes are notcaptured by the according survey questions, even if these changes have long-term impact on living conditions. The usefulness of satisfaction scores as an indicator of peoples living conditions is discussed.