Peter Krause

Das Sozio-oekonomische Panel (SOEP): Multidisziplinäres Haushaltspanel und Kohortenstudie für Deutschland – Eine Einführung (für neue Datennutzer) mit einem Ausblick (für erfahrene Anwender)

ZusammenfassungDie Längsschnittstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP) stellt seit einem Viertel-Jahrhundert als Teil der (inter-)nationalen Forschungsinfrastruktur jährlich Mikrodaten zur Messung biographischer Verläufe für die Grundlagenforschung und Politikberatung im Bereich der Sozial-, Wirtschafts- und Verhaltenswissenschaften bereit. Das SOEP ist zugleich Haushaltspanel und Kohortenstudie. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt den Hintergrund des SOEP, seine inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte, die datentechnische Konzeption, sowie Hochrechnung und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten. Der Ausblick fokussiert zukünftige Entwicklungen – die Weiterentwicklung der Governance und des Services – im Hinblick auf eine detailreiche Erfassung des Lebensverlaufs mit disziplinübergreifenden Forschungskonzepten unter Einsatz innovativer Erhebungs- und Meßmethoden. AbstractThe longitudinal study German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) has been working for a quarter of a century as part of international research infractructure. It offers annual microdata for the measurement of biographical developments for basicresearch and policy advice in the social, economic, and behavioral sciences. The SOEP is, at the same time, a household panel as well as a cohort study. The present paper describes the background of the SOEP, its core themes and data structure, as well as the process of weighting and potential applications. The prospect focuses on future developments –- the further improvement of governance and service –- aiming to gather detailed life course data with interdisciplinary research concepts by the use of innovative survey and measurement methods.

Long and short term poverty: is Germany a two-thirds society?

Social scientists and media commentators have expressed concern that Western countries are becoming “two-thirds societies” in which two-thirds enjoy the benefits of affluence, while one-third are locked into poverty or near-poverty. This paper, based on economic panel data, tests the two-thirds society hypothesis in the case of (West) Germany 1984–89. The main finding is that poverty (defined as receiving less than half of average household income) is mostly short term and that nothing like one-third are locked into poverty. On the other hand, far more people than had previously been thought are at risk of poverty. In 1984–89 only 3% were poor every year but about 25% were poor in at least one year. Germany appears to be a 75-15-10 society: 75% not poor, 15% occasionally poor but with generally adequate incomes, and 10% frequently poor or near-poor with incomes that may be considered inadequate. Analysis is based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and relates to the 8,000 people who were interviewed each year from 1984 to 1989.

Political legitimacy versus economic imperatives in system transformation: Hungary and East Germany 1990–93

East European policy makers currently face critical trade-offs between economic imperatives and system legitimacy imperatives. Economic imperatives, derived from the goal of medium term prosperity, demand rapid privatization and marketization. System legitimacy imperatives demand measures to minimize the unemployment, wage cuts and income inequality resulting in the short term from privatization and marketization. In 1989–90 East Germany and Hungary appeared to face the least harsh trade-offs and to be best placed of the ex-communist countries to achieve successful system transformation. Unlike their East European neighbours, neither had to develop democratic and market institutions from scratch. East Germany would import the Federal Republics political system and market institutions. Hungary already had organized political parties and had been developing market institutions since 1968. Using panel survey data, the paper shows that, despite considerable economic achievements since 1990, there is widespread personal dissatisfaction and distress, and the legitimacy of democratic and market institutions is weak. The main data sources are the Hungarian Socio-Economic Panel (1992–5777 individuals in 2888 households) and the East German segment of the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990–4453 individuals in 2179 households).

Public Transfers, Income Distribution, and Poverty in Germany and in the United States

In most industrialized countries one major task of the welfare system is to combat poverty. This includes a policy targeted at those who are in need permanently, as well as at those who face the risk of more or less severe income losses which might arise from specific life situations such as unemployment. In most cases this is accomplished by the payment of direct transfers or subsidies to the respective household and its members. This common baseline of perception about the general structure of a welfare system exists regardless of the fact that public transfers in Germany reach much more citizens than in the United States. This is true even for those families with income weil above a poverty line, for example well-earning households with children. It is common sense in both countries that the welfare system should not level income inequality caused by different individual behavior. Its purpose is rather to protect individuals from falling into poverty.

Arbeitslosigkeit, öffentliche Transferzahlungen und Armut — Eine Mikro-Simulation für West-und Ostdeutschland

Das System der sozialen Sicherung in Deutschland ist seit langem Gegenstand vielfaltiger Diskurse und Reformvorschlage. Zentrale Grundlage dieser Kontroversen sind „unterschiedliche Einschatzungen der auf lange Sicht zu erwartenden Entwicklung der demographischen, gesellschaftlichen, wirtschaftlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen“ sowie daran anknupfend gravierende Unterschiede in den „sozialpolitischen Werthaltungen“ und der politischen Bewertung der Rolle des Staates (Hauser, 1995: 51). Divergierende sozialpolitische Werthaltungen und unterschiedliche politische Bewertungen der Rolle des Staates manifestieren sich allem voran in dem Ausmas der Umverteilung, insbesondere der offentlichen Unterstutzung privater Haushalte bei unzureichender Einkommenslage und Armut.