The impact of lengthening the school day on substance abuse and crime: Evidence from a German high school reform

In the 2000s, a major educational reform in Germany reduced the academic high school duration by one year while keeping constant the total number of instructional hours before graduation. The instructional hours from the eliminated school year shifted to lower grade levels, which increased the time younger students spend at school. This study explores the impact of the reform on youth crime rates and substance abuse using administrative police crime statistics, administrative student enrollment data, and a student drug survey. The staggered implementation of the reform in different Länder-age-groups allows for a difference-in-difference approach. I find that the reform resulted in a decline in crime rates, which is almost exclusively driven by a reduction in violent crime and illegal substance abuse. Regarding the latter, the rate of illegal cannabis consumption strongly declined; however, no significant effect is detected on cannabis dealers or the consumption of other illegal drugs. The survey evidence further suggests that decreased cannabis consumption was not driven by a shift of consumption into 'school hours'. The results point to an 'incapacitation' effect of schooling due to the increased instructional hours at lower grade levels

Impacts of parental health on children's development of personality traits and problem behavior: Evidence from parental health shocks

In this paper, we examine how parental health affects children's development of personality traits and problem behavior. Based on a German mother-and-child data base, we draw on observed parental health shocks as a more exogenous source of health variation to identify these effects and control for child and family characteristics including variables reflecting initial endowments observed at birth. At the age of six, we observe that maternal health shocks in early childhood have significant impacts on children's emotional symptoms, hyperactivity and neuroticism. Paternal health seems to be less relevant for the development of these non-cognitive characteristics. However, we observe that paternal health shocks cause children to be more extraverted. --Human capital,health,personality traits,non-cognitive skills

Essays in microeconomics with applications in education, health and crime

(...) Simple changes in an institutional framework can have huge impacts for the human society which makes it important to analyze them and define their consequences to create a surplus for the society. In the following dissertation, I present applications how policy regulations and external events generate behavioral responses with a focus on indirect effects, e.g. from health on education and education on crime. All chapters, while not exclusively, follow an empirical approach and show effects in important fields of human society. Beyond the research methods from microeconomics, this dissertation tackles the field of health, early childhood development, secondary education, adolescent drug-abuse and law enforcement. Several identification strategies are used to cope with endogeneity and deliver causal effects between the fields of education, health and crime.(...

Berufsgruppe "Erzieherin": Zufrieden mit der Arbeit, aber nicht mit der Entlohnung

Erzieherinnen und Erzieher haben mit dem Ausbau der Kindertagesbetreuung in Deutschland in den vergangenen Jahren massiv an Bedeutung gewonnen. Wie zufrieden ist diese Berufsgruppe mit ihrer Arbeit? Wie stark fühlt sie sich belastet? Und wie unterscheidet sie sich diesbezüglich von vergleichbaren Berufsgruppen? Diesen Fragen geht die vorliegendeStudie auf Basis von Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) nach. Es zeigt sich, dass Erzieherinnen mit ihrer Arbeit durchaus zufrieden sind - sie erreichen ähnlich hohe Zufriedenheitswerte wie Grundschullehrerinnen. Mit ihrem Einkommen sind sie allerdings unzufriedener als die meisten Vergleichsgruppen. Obwohl sie sich in ihrem Beruf in vielen Bereichen nicht überdurchschnittlich belastet fühlen, ist ihre Balance zwischen beruflicher Belohnung und Verausgabung schlechter als in den meisten anderen Berufsgruppen. MehrInvestitionen in den Bereich der frühen Bildung könnten sich lohnen, wenn dadurch Erzieherinnen beispielsweise ihre Entlohnung als angemessener und die Arbeitsintensität als weniger belastend empfinden und so die Qualität der frühen Bildung steigt. Letztlich würde es sich dabei um Investitionen in das heutige und künftige Humanpotential handeln.The expansion of day care in Germany over the past few years has led to a corresponding growth in the number of childcare workers. How satisfied are these employees with their work? Do they feel overburdened? And how do their feelings differ from those working in comparable professions? The present study attempts to answer these questions using data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The data show that childcare workers are quite satisfied with their work, reporting satisfaction levels as high as those of primary school teachers. When it comes to pay, however, they are more dissatisfied than those in the comparison groups. Although they do not feel burdened by many aspects of their work, the balance between effort and reward is poorer than it is among most of the other professional groups. More investment in early education could be worthwhile, because if childcare workers are more satisfied with their pay and find their jobs less stressful, the quality of education will increase overall. This will ultimately be an investment in current and future human potential

Kinder und Jugendliche mit Fluchthintergrund nutzen freiwillige Bildungsangebote seltener - mit Ausnahme der Schul-AGs

Nicht verpflichtende Bildungsangebote wie die Teilnahme an Schul-AGs, der Besuch von Kindertageseinrichtungen (Kitas) und die Nutzung von non-formalen Bildungsangeboten wie außerschulische Sport- oder Musikaktivitäten spielen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Integration in eine Gesellschaft. Doch inwieweit nehmen Kinder und deren Familien die freiwilligen Angebote auch in Anspruch? Dieser Frage geht der vorliegende Bericht auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) und der gemeinsamen Migrationsbefragung des SOEP und des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) erstmals speziell für solche Kinder nach, die einen Fluchthintergrund haben. Die Studie zeigt, dass Kinder von Geflüchteten einzelne freiwillige Angebote wie Schul-AGs genauso häufig oder sogar häufiger in Anspruch nehmen als andere Kinder. Allerdings besuchen sie, insbesondere wenn sie jünger als drei Jahre sind, seltener eine Eltern-Kind-Gruppe oder eine Kita. Im Schulalter nehmen sie sowohl in der Grundschule als auch in der Sekundarstufe zudem seltener an sportlichen Aktivitäten außerhalb der Schule teil. Integrationsbemühungen sollten daher auch diese außerschulischen Aktivitäten in den Fokus nehmen und zielgerichtet Kinder, Jugendliche und deren Familien adressieren. Bei den schulischen Arbeitsgemeinschaften wurde schon viel erreicht - dieses Potential gilt es zu nutzen und weiterhin zu fördern.Non-compulsory educational programs including extracurricular school activities, child day care centers, and non-formal educational programs, such as sports or music activities outside of school, make an important contribution to social integration. But to what extent do children and their families actually make use of these voluntary programs? On the basis of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the joint migration survey of the SOEP and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the present report seeks to address this question for the first time with a specific focus on children with a refugee background. The study shows that these children participate in some voluntary educational activities such as extracurricular school activities just as frequently as or even more frequently than other children. However, they are less likely to participate in a parent-child group or attend a day care center, particularly those under the age of three, than their contemporaries. Further, at both primary and secondary school age, children of refugees participate less often in sports activities outside of school. Efforts to integrate those with a refugee background should therefore also focus on these non-formal educational activities held outside of school and specifically target children, adolescents, and their families. When it comes to extracurricular school activities, however, a great deal has already been achieved-it is important that we make full use of and continue to tap into this potential

Children and adolescents with refugee background less likely to participate in voluntary educational programs - with exception of extracurricular school activities

Non-compulsory educational programs including extracurricular school activities, child day care centers, and non-formal educational programs, such as sports or music activities outside of school, make an important contribution to social integration. But to what extent do children and their families actually make use of these voluntary programs? On the basis of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the joint migration survey of the SOEP and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the present report seeks to address this question for the first time with a specific focus on children with a refugee background. The study shows that these children participate in some voluntary educational activities such as extracurricular school activities just as frequently as or even more frequently than other children. However, they are less likely to participate in a parent-child group or to attend a day care center, particularly those under the age of three, than their peers. Further, at both primary and secondary school age, children of refugees participate less often in sports activities outside of school. Efforts to integrate those with a refugee background should therefore also focus on these non-formal educational activities held outside of school and specifically target these children, adolescents, and their families. When it comes to extracurricular school activities, however, a great deal has already been achieved-it is important that we make full use of and continue to tap into this potential

Impacts of parental health on children’s development of personality traits and problem behavior: evidence from parental health shocks

In this paper, we examine how parental health affects children’s development of personality traits and problem behavior. Based on a German mother-and-child data base, we draw on observed parental health shocks as a more exogenous source of health variation to identify these effects and control for child and family characteristics including variables reflecting initial endowments observed at birth. At the age of six, we observe that maternal health shocks in early childhood have significant impacts on children’s emotional symptoms, hyperactivity and neuroticism. Paternal health seems to be less relevant for the development of these non-cognitive characteristics. However, we observe that paternal health shocks cause children to be more extraverted

Impacts of parental health shocks on children's non-cognitive skills

We examine how parental health shocks affect children’s non-cognitive skills. Based on a German mother-and-child data base, we draw on significant changes in selfreported parental health as an exogenous source of health variation to identify effects on outcomes for children at ages of three and six years. At the age of six, we observe that maternal health shocks in the previous three years have significant negative effects on children’s behavioral outcomes. The most serious of these maternal health shocks decrease the observed non-cognitive skills up to half a standard deviation. Paternal health does not robustly affect non-cognitive outcomes