SOEP Brown Bag

The SOEP Brown Bag takes place biweekly at DIW Berlin. Invitations are sent out via mailing list. The information on this website may be subject to change. In case of questions, please email agrawe@diw.de.

Winter Semester 2025/2026

February 4, 2026, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Cara Ebert (RWI Essen)
Improving Migration Outcomes: A Mentoring Experiment and its Network Effects in Senegal (with Bernd Beber, Zara Riaz and Juni Singh)
Abstract

In this paper we study the effectiveness of a randomized migration mentoring program, and the role of network embeddedness at origin, for migration decisions and outcomes in rural Senegal. The mentoring program improves job expectations when migrating, migration experiences, and economic outcomes. When the mentoring is attended by randomly assigned migrant from the origin village, positive expectations and experiences from migrating cease, but economic impacts remain.

[CANCELLED] January 21, 2026, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Dimitria Freitas (TU Dresden)
The Effect of Public Sector Relocations on Regional Development in Germany
Abstract

Regional economic disparities within countries have become increasingly large, often surpassing the disparities observed between countries. To address regional inequality, governments have been turning away from standard subsidies and are experimenting with public employment reallocation as a place-based policy. This paper estimates the causal effect of public employment reallocation on local labor markets. I study the Heimatstrategie, which relocates around 3,000 public sector jobs from Munich to economically lagging regions in Bavaria, Germany. Using novel data on 60 agency relocations between 2015 and 2025, I exploit the government’s quantitative selection criteria for receiving municipalities and implement a long-differences design comparing treated Bavarian municipalities to Mahalanobis-matched control municipalities in other German states. My estimates show that relocations increased private sector employment shares by up to 2.3%, reduced unemployment rates by up to 11.9%, and increased local population by up to 1.6% without harming sending locations. These results correspond to a public-to-private jobs multiplier of 1.08. To assess general equilibrium effects of the relocation program, I implement a quantitative spatial model with a two-sector (public and private) framework, showing modest increases in amenities through the relocation counterfactual and negligible welfare effects.

January 7, 2026, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Elena Matheny (European University Viadrina)
Conditional Permanent Residency and Refugee Integration: Evidence from Germany’s 2016 Reform
Abstract

This study examines the 2016 reform of Germany’s Residence Act that intended to foster refugee integration by extending the waiting period for permanent residency from three to five years and introducing requirements, such as proficiency in German and partial financial independence. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we employ a difference-in-differences design to analyse employment and full-time employment trends among refugees. Results show that the reform did not accelerate take-up rates of either overall or full-time employment. However, administrative data from the German Central Register of Foreign Nationals reveals that after the reform permanent residency acquisition rates significantly declined. The findings call into question the efficacy of conditional residency policies in fostering labour market integration.

December 10, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Nhat An Trinh (WZB)
Unequal Estate Division for Wealth Perpetuation: Portfolios, Primogeniture, and Patrilineality (with Daria Tisch and Manuel Schechtl)
Abstract

While inequalities in inter-vivos gifts and bequests between families are widely recognized as key drivers of wealth inequality, less is known about the unequal transmission of wealth within families. This study addresses this gap by asking: (1) To what extent are estates unequally divided? (2) How do estate portfolios, primogeniture, and patrilineality shape unequal estate division? (3) What is the impact of unequal estate division on inheritance inequality? Analyzing administrative data from the German inheritance and gift tax register (2007–2020), we find that 38 percent of estates are unequally divided between children. Unequal division is most pronounced at the top of the distribution and when business assets dominate the estate. Sons benefit rather than firstborn children, reflecting patrilineal practices. Overall inheritance inequality would be reduced by 8 percent if estates were divided equally. These findings shed novel light on how the family generates inequalities both within and across generations.

November 26, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Alexander Bertermann (ifo Institut)
Growing Up with Disasters: Early Memories and the Origins of Patience
Abstract

This paper examines the long-term impact of childhood exposure to aggregate shocks on intertemporal decision-making. Drawing on survey data from 80,000 individuals in 76 countries and exploiting within-country, cross-cohort variation in exposure to natural and man-made disasters, I show that such shocks during childhood significantly reduce patience in adulthood. The effects are concentrated during adolescence, highlighting the importance of this developmental stage in the formation of time preferences. Evidence from migrant subsamples helps isolate psychological mechanisms from material hardship, pointing to heightened perceived future uncertainty as the primary channel. Overall, these findings demonstrate that childhood exposure to instability has lasting effects on adult time preferences.

November 12, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Ruta Yemane (DeZIM-Institut)
The Power of Stereotypes and how they influence labour market outcomes (with Susanne Veit and Johanna Hildebrandt)
Abstract

In this paper, we draw on two key models of stereotyping, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and the Agency-Beliefs-Communion (ABC) to study whether stereotypes associated to ethnic minorities predict discrimination in hiring in the German labor market. In study 1, we examined the content of the stereotypes that Germans ascribe to 38 ethnic minorities, drawing on a large-scale online survey (N=2,300). We instructed respondents to rate ethnic minorities with respect to different adjectives reflecting the warmth, competence/agency, and progressive beliefs dimensions of the SCM and ABC model. In study 2, we used the group-level ethnic stereotypes found in study 1 to predict differences in employer responses to job applications. We drew on a large-scale field experiment on hiring discrimination, a so-called correspondence test, conducted in Germany (N=2,700 employer responses). The ethnic background of the fictitious job candidates was randomly varied in this field experiment, which allowed us to investigate how well ethnic stereotypes can explain ethnic hierarchies in hiring and which stereotype content dimensions mattered the most in employers’ evaluations. Overall, our results suggest that stereotypes about beliefs play a crucial role in the assessment of ethnic origin groups. Stereotypical progressiveness is the best predictor for ethnic discrimination in real-world hiring decisions. Interestingly, progressive beliefs are also the strongest predictor of perceived similarity to the Germany host society. By contrast, competence/agency and warmth stereotypes fail to predict hiring discrimination.

October 29, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Mariel Leonard (DIW Berlin / SOEP)
Introduction to systematic and scoping literature reviews
Abstract

“Literature reviews are an essential feature of research articles and academic papers, but often not considered to be noteworthy or publishable themselves. Systematic and scoping literature reviews, however, can be powerful tools to assess and summarize the totality of available literature, and thus shape other’s understanding of the field. I will present an introduction to systematic and scoping reviews, including: (1) when and how to use both types of reviews, (2) conducting them to publishable standards, and (3) common issues with conducting systematic and scoping reviews and how to address them. I will also share examples of published reviews for reference.”

October 15, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Kamila Cygan-Rehm (TU Dresden)
Timing of School Entry and Personality Traits in Adulthood (with Anton Barabasch and Andreas Leibing)
Abstract

This paper investigates the long-run consequences of a later school entry for personality traits. For identification, we exploit the statutory cutoff rules for school enrollment in Germany within a regression discontinuity design. We find that relatively older school starters have persistently lower levels of neuroticism in adulthood. This effect is entirely driven by women, which has important implications for gender gaps in the labor market, as women typically score significantly higher on neuroticism at all stages of life, which puts them at a disadvantage. Our results suggest that family decisions regarding compliance with enrollment cutoffs may have lasting implications for gender gaps in socio-emotional skills.

October 8, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm – Regina Riphahn (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg)
Occupational recognition of refugees: Effects on labor market outcomes, remittances, and life satisfaction (with Selina Gangl and Matthias Collischon)
Abstract

Many high-income economies strive to integrate recently immigrated refugees and asylum-seekers into their labor markets. We contribute to the discussion of relevant policy tools and use rich survey data that are matched to precise administrative records on refugee immigrants to Germany. We study the impact of occupational recognition decisions on refugee outcomes. Applying a difference-in-differences design with person-specific fixed effects, we find that those who benefit from occupational recognition are more likely to be employed, earn higher wages, have higher life satisfaction, and transfer higher remittances to their home countries than individuals who never (or later) apply for occupational recognition. In future work, we will employ event study designs to examine the development of effects over time and offer additional details on relevant mechanisms.