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Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A representative survey from August 2022 confirms public support for a universal basic income (UBI): Between 45 and 55 percent of respondents are in favor of a universal basic income and the unconditional financial security it promises. Two representative surveys from August 2022 investigate who exactly UBI supporters are and which UBI model they prefer. The surveys show that younger people in particular as well as low-income earners and people with serious concerns about their own economic situation support a UBI. One of the surveys analyzed in this Weekly Report shows that most respondents support an unconditional UBI of 1,200 euros that is financed via higher income and wealth taxes on the rich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For the first time in 2020, the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), an annual survey of private households, surveyed the donation behavior of a random sample of high net worth individuals that had been added in 2019. As a result of this sample, the volume of private donations increased from 9.7 to 10.3 billion euros in 2019, despite the fact that fewer individuals donated and the donation rate was lower (46.8 percent vs. 43.3 percent) than in 2017. The donation volume for 2021 will increase to 12.9 billion euros, its development extrapolated using the DZI Donation Index (DZI Spenden-Index). Socio-economic analyses of SOEP data show that income has a clear influence on donation behavior. Although the richest ten percent of households contribute 37 percent of total donations, they donate less than the poorer income groups relative to their disposable income. Despite this, the tax benefit from charitable giving is greater for richer households than for poorer because it is based on the marginal tax rate. Equal tax treatment for donors regardless of income could increase the willingness to donate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food banks are returning to the spotlight as their use increases due to the coronavirus pandemic and the influx of Ukrainian refugees to Germany. The current discussion is focused on whether the food banks can handle the increasing number of users as well as the financial and organizational challenges that come with them. Until now, however, no robust, empirical data on food bank use has been available. Using Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data, this Weekly Report presents new findings and analyses on the number of food bank users and their socio-demographic distribution. According to the SOEP data, about 1.1 million people used food banks in the first half of 2020. A large share of users are women, people with a migration background, divorced or separated people, and the unemployed; additionally, one fourth of those who benefit from food banks are children. Food bank users also tend to be in poor health. As expected, they also have a below average net household income and accordingly, over two thirds of them are at risk of poverty. The structural causes of poverty must be addressed to ensure that food banks do not reach their limit. Increasing the standard rate for welfare benefits and providing targeted support measures for job seekers could lessen dependency on food banks. Food banks should also be professionalized, as is currently under discussion, and increasingly take on a pilot function for other support measures in the social security system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The German government is planning to reform Hartz IV by replacing it with a simpler and more accessible system known as Bürgergeld. Using a random-based survey of eight job centers in North Rhine-Westphalia, this Weekly Report considers the perspectives of the long-term unemployed: What do they think about the reforms? How do they perceive their situation? What are their daily lives like? The findings reveal the long-term unemployed have mostly positive, yet differentiated assessments of individual reform aspects. For example, a large majority of the long-term unemployed are in favor of improving opportunities for supplemental income and many are skeptical about a general ban on sanctions. Over 40 percent of the long-term unemployed report feeling "very" or "somewhat" ashamed of receiving means-tested basic security benefits, while nearly two thirds completely or somewhat agree with the statement that other benefit recipients are exploiting the system. According to their own statements, many benefit recipients are active in volunteer work and work around the neighborhood. Improving support for such informal work in the future can help strengthen the long-term unemployed's social participation beyond gainful employment. Moreover, due to inflation, a noticeable increase in the standard rate will be needed to mitigate poverty risks in the short and medium term. In addition, prolonging the sanctions moratorium could serve as a model project of sorts and provide insight into the effects of sanctions as well as an evidence-based assessment of the controversial topic. This opportunity should not go unused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Umfragen der Langzeitstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP) zeigen, dass Privatpersonen ab 16 Jahren in Deutschland im Jahr 2017 fast zehn Milliarden Euro spendeten. Das Spendenvolumen ist im Vergleich zum Jahr 2009 wesentlich angestiegen. Die Höhe liegt aufgrund methodischer Vorteile der SOEP-Befragung deutlich über den Ergebnissen anderer Befragungen. Der Anteil der Spendenden im Jahr 2017 betrug 47 Prozent aller Erwachsenen und ist im Vergleich zum Jahr 2009 um fast sieben Prozentpunkte gestiegen. Noch deutlicher ist der von den Spendenden durchschnittlich jährlich aufgebrachte Betrag von 206 Euro auf 301 Euro im gleichen Zeitraum angewachsen. Die Spendentätigkeit hat sich in Westund Ostdeutschland seit 2009 deutlich erhöht, wobei auch im Jahr 2017 die Spendenquote im Westen um rund elf Prozentpunkte höher war als im Osten. Etwa 35 Prozent des gesamten Spendenvolumens wurden vom obersten Dezil der Einkommensverteilung privater Haushalte aufgebracht. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Das ehrenamtliche Engagement ist in Deutschland in den letzten 30 Jahren laut repräsentativen Befragungsergebnissen des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) kontinuierlich gestiegen. Dazu trug sowohl die wachsende Bereitschaft junger Erwachsener bei, sich freiwillig ehrenamtlich zu engagieren, als auch das gestiegene Engagement Älterer, die zunehmend auch nach dem Renteneintritt ehrenamtlich aktiv sind. Der Generationenvergleich zeigt, dass sich die 68er-Generation der 1941 bis 1954 Geborenen beim Übergang in den Ruhestand besonders häufig engagiert. 29 Prozent der Angehörigen dieser Generation setzten ihr ehrenamtliches Engagement fort, 13 Prozent nahmen nach der Verrentung ein Ehrenamt auf. Damit zeigt sich diese Generation beim Übergang in den Ruhestand ehrenamtlich aktiver als ältere Geburtskohorten. Die Politik sollte dieses Potenzial künftig durch flexible und niedrigschwellige ehrenamtliche Einsatzmöglichkeiten fördern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Calculations based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) show that after the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany in January 2015, the wage growth of eligible employees with low wages accelerated significantly. Before the reform, the nominal growth in contractual hourly wages in the lowest decile, the bottom tenth of the pay distribution, was less than two percent in the long-term two-year average, while from 2014 to 2016 it was around 15 percent. Nevertheless, in the first half of 2016, around 1.8 million employees who were eligible for the minimum wage of 8.50 euros gross per hour still earned contractual hourly wages below this level. In 2015, the count was approximately 2.1 million workers, and in the year before the introduction of the minimum wage, almost 2.8 million. The figures for 2015 and 2016 reported here are thus higher than corresponding figures from company surveys. Despite the disproportionate increase in wages in the lowest wage decile, many workers are still not earning the minimum wage. The objectives of the German Minimum Wage Act (Mindestlohngesetz) are often not being met, especially among the marginally employed. Instruments for better enforcement of the Minimum Wage Act include more frequent inspections, stricter sanctioning, more effective grievance procedures for workers, and stricter requirements for the documentation systems (especially timekeeping). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of refugees in Germany and the challenges their integration poses have preoccupied the public for the past two years. According to the latest data of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), many more people in Germany were concerned about migration and xenophobia last year than in 2013. The additional representative results of the Barometer of Public Opinion on Refugees in Germany in 2016 and the current SOEP wave also indicated that respondents see more risks than opportunities in the refugee migration to Germany. At the same time, around one-third of the population said they had actively supported refugees in the form of monetary or material donations; around ten percent had helped out on site, for example by accompanying refugees to appointments at authorities or language instruction. People with a higher level of formal education and a history of volunteering were more likely to assist actively on site in the integration of refugees. In the course of the year, however, the number of respondents who expressed their intention to become active in the future decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's teenagers spend their free time very differently than they did 15 years ago: engagement with IT and communications technologies is now their most significant leisure activity. Representative statistics based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) longitudinal study indicate that Internet and computer-based recreation plays a major role for more than 95 percent of all 17-yearolds in Germany, regardless of gender. Even though access to the Internet and computer-based technologies is now widespread across all social classes, usage patterns differ according to certain socio-demographic characteristics. While lower household income is associated with higher Internet activity, it is not a factor in social networking or gaming. The latter remains a male domain, but boys' and girls' Internet usage and social network engagement do not differ: here the type of high school plays a determining role. Students in academically oriented German high schools (Gymnasien) are more likely to be active on social media on a daily basis than are students in secondary schools (Realschulen and Hauptschulen), which are less academically oriented. Education policymakers have started acknowledging the pivotal role that technology plays in young people's lives and have announced a campaign targeted to adolescents of all social segments and at all types of high schools. It aims to strengthen students' command of technology while discussing the risks of digital communication, and investigate how education can leverage more of the new opportunities in digital media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new representative survey of a total of 4,500 recently arrived refugees to Germany conducted by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ), and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) has generated an entirely new database for analyzing forced migration and the integration of refugees into German society. The findings we present here are based on the first part of the survey, in which over 2,300 people were interviewed. In addition to the causes of forced migration, the survey captures data on escape routes and educational and vocational biographies. Respondents also answered questions about their values, attitudes, and personality traits, as well as their integration into the German job market and education system. The results show that the threats of war, violence, and persecution were their primary reasons for migration, and that the costs and risks of migration are high. The refugees show extreme heterogeneity in educational backgrounds. The share of respondents who arrived in Germany with vocational or university degrees is low. However, these refugees have high aspirations when it comes to education. And in terms of values, they have more in common with the German population than with the populations of their respective countries of origin. The integration of refugees into the job market and education system has just begun, but Germany's integration policy measures are starting to have a perceptible impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of 2016, the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study has been conducting a monthly survey of German attitudes, expectations, and fears concerning migration. The third wave of the survey,-the Barometer of Public Opinion on Refugees in Germany (Stimmungsbarometer zu Geflüchteten in Deutschland)-, conducted in March 2016, shows that more than half of all respondents still associate the influx of refugees with more risks than opportunities. Nonetheless, a clear majority (81 percent of respondents) are in favor of admitting refugees and those fleeing political persecution, in accordance with international law. At the same time, however, the majority are of the conviction that refugees should be sent back to their home country once their reason for leaving it no longer pertains. Only 28 percent of all respondents are in favor of allowing refugees who have already been living in Germany for some time to remain in the country even after the situation in their country of origin has improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to calculations based on the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study, the proportion of middle-income group in Germany fell by more than five percentage points from 1991 to 2013, taking it to 61 percent. Germany is not the only country to have experienced such a downturn, however. Analyses of the situation in the US indicate a similar decline. To the middle-income group belong individuals in households earning a total income, before tax and social security contributions, of 67 to 200 percent of the median. In the US, however, there has been a stronger increase in income polarization than in Germany: in the US, those who have left the middle-income group tend to be concentrated more on the periphery of the income distribution. The share of income of the middleincome group has also dropped substantially in both countries studied. This decline affected all age groups with the exception of individuals of people at retirement age. In the US, it was primarily immigrants from Latin America who tended to move down from the middle-income group, while in Germany, the most notable decline was seen in the share of foreigners in the middle-income bracket. However, when looking at the personal wealth of the middleincome group, patterns differ: while in the US, this group experienced a decline in real net worth of over one quarter, in Germany it experienced an increase of 15 percent in real terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now a quarter of a century since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the gap in living standards between eastern and western Germany is still not fully closed. Admittedly, this could not realistically have been expected. Despite the increase in life satisfaction in eastern Germany, the east-west divide prevails. Evidence of this can be found in the latest data from the long-term Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study gathered by DIW Berlin in cooperation with the fieldwork organization TNS Infratest Sozialforschung. According to the SOEP data, in 2013, eastern Germans were far less happy than western Germans, although the level of life satisfaction in the east was higher than at any other point in the history of the survey, which was conducted for the first time in eastern Germany in 1990--shortly before economic, currency, and social union. Other subjective indicators reveal differences in satisfaction with household income, health, and childcare. In contrast, job satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with housing, housework, and leisure time have converged. Eastern Germans worry more about crime levels and their own financial circumstances, whereas concerns about xenophobia and employment have diminished throughout Germany. The SOEP surveys show that, according to population, living standards in Germany are now largely aligned. Despite a number of specific problems which, in the coming years, will include the development of new pensions in eastern Germany in particular, German reunification has proven to be an extraordinary success story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, far more eastern Germans are unhappy with their income than western Germans. In 2013, around 44 percent of employed eastern Germans rated their earnings as unjust compared with approximately one-third in western Germany. Although the east-west gap has been diminishing since 2005--to around 12 percent in 2013--this is not because eastern Germans feel that they are now being paid more fairly, but rather because the perceived injustice in western Germany increases. One of the reasons why a relatively high level of perceived wage inequality persists in eastern Germany is the fact that there are still differences between East and West in incomes within occupations. Evidence of this is seen in analyses conducted by the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people's leisure activities are significantly different today than they were ten years ago. The obvious use of communication and entertainment electronics, such as cell phones, computers, and games consoles is only one aspect-there are also less visible changes: informal activities such as meeting with friends are being increasingly sidelined by education-oriented activities like extra-curricular music lessons or sports. These are the findings of a study conducted by DIW Berlin based on longitudinal data from the statistically representative Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). It shows that education-oriented leisure activities feature in the lives of over 60 percent of all 16-year-olds. Ten years ago, this only applied to 48 percent of all young people of this age. The demand for education-oriented activities has increased across all social classes. Nevertheless, clearly identifiable social differences still remain. Young people from socially underprivileged households are therefore at a double disadvantage, since less favorable conditions at home are compounded in school and during leisure time. Policy-makers have already recognized the need to act here and are attempting to reduce persisting inequalities in leisure activities, for example, by expanding all-day schooling and promoting education-oriented leisure activities specifically for children from low-income families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on income inequality and poverty risk or relative income poverty in Germany between 2005 and 2010. Information is gathered from analyses of personal income distribution in Germany, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. The increase in real market income in private households from 2005 and 2010 is revealed.

Surveys of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) have shown that Germans donated around 5.3 billion euros in 2009--right in the middle of the financial and economic crisis. The type and amount of donations made is well documented in Germany. However, until recently, there was very little information available on the identity of Germans who share their income with people in need. A new survey in the long-term SOEP study has now made it possible to collect this information systematically for the first time and to investigate questions such as: Which social groups do people who make donations belong to? Does a high income increase the willingness to donate money? Do education and age play a role? Do people who are happy donate more? Do the same motives apply for giving money as, for example, giving blood? In order to find answers to these questions, existing data sources on the Germans' willingness to give were analyzed, verified and matched with SOEP data for the first time. The results are conclusive: Women donate more than men, older people more than younger people. This only applies to donating money, however. As regards giving blood, social and financial differences are of much less importance. Here almost all social groups and classes donate as much--albeit much less frequently. While almost 40 percent of all Germans donated money in 2009, only seven percent gave blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Greens have been riding high in the polls for months now. In Baden-Württemberg, a stronghold of the Christian-Democratic Party (CDU), Winfried Kretschmann became the first Green party candidate to be elected Minister-President of any German state. This article looks beyond the current political climate to analyze longer-term trends in Green party support. The data used come from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Study, carried out by DIW Berlin in cooperation with TNS Infratest, Munich. The data are especially well suited to the in-depth analysis of party identification for two reasons: First, the SOEP has interviewed the same individuals on their party support for 27 consecutive years. Second, the SOEP provides a uniquely rich set of data on the question of who these Green partisans are--how much they earn, what educational qualifications they possess and what their occupational status is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including labor productivity, employment and wages in Germany.

The article presents an interview with Jürgen Schupp, director of socio economic panel at German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, Germany, who discusses the countries which most of the refugees in the country come from, their main reasons for migrating, and their personal values.

An abstract of the paper "Personality Changes in Couples: Partnership Longevity and Personality Congruence in Couples," by Beatrice Rammstedt, Frank M. Spinath, David Richter, and Jürgen Schupp, is presented.