How important is cultural background for the level of intergenerational mobility?

Using results on brother correlations of different groups of second generation immigrants based on administrative data from Denmark, this note analyzes the role of cultural background in the determination of the level of intergenerational mobility. The estimated correlations indicate that cultural background is not an important factor for the level of intergenerational mobility. --Intergenerational mobility,Sibling correlations

How Important Is the Family?: Evidence from Sibling Correlations in Permanent Earnings in the US, Germany and Denmark

This paper is the first to analyze intergenerational economic mobility based on sibling correlations in permanent earnings in Germany and to provide a cross-country comparison of Germany, Denmark, and the US. The main findings are as follows: the importance of family and community background in Germany is higher than in Denmark and comparable to that in the US. This holds true for brothers and sisters. In Denmark 20 percent of the inequality in permanent earnings can be attributed to family and community factors shared by brothers while the corresponding estimates are 43 percent in Germany and 45 percent in the US. For sisters the estimates are 19 percent for Denmark, 39 percent for Germany and 29 percent for the US. This ranking is shown to be robust against alternative approaches.Sibling correlations, intergenerational mobility, inequality, REML

How Important Is the Family? Evidence from Sibling Correlations in Permanent Earnings in the USA, Germany, and Denmark

This paper is the first to analyze the impact of family background on permanent earnings based on sibling correlations in Germany and to provide a cross-country comparison of Germany, Denmark, and USA. The main findings are that family and community background has a stronger influence on permanent earnings in Germany than in Denmark, and a comparable influence is found in USA. This holds true for both male and female siblings. A deeper analysis of Germany shows that family background also plays an important role in explaining variations in family income, wages, education, and risk attitudes.The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00148-013-0468-

How important is the family? Evidence from sibling correlations in permanent earnings in the US, Germany and Denmark

This paper is the first to analyze intergenerational economic mobility based on sibling correlations in permanent earnings in Germany and to provide a cross-country comparison of Germany, Denmark, and the US. The main findings are as follows: the importance of family and community background in Germany is higher than in Denmark and comparable to that in the US. This holds true for brothers and sisters. In Denmark 20 percent of the inequality in permanent earnings can be attributed to family and community factors shared by brothers while the corresponding estimates are 43 percent in Germany and 45 percent in the US. For sisters the estimates are 19 percent for Denmark, 39 percent for Germany and 29 percent for the US. This ranking is shown to be robust against alternative approaches

Umfang und Folgen der Nichtinanspruchnahme von Urlaub in Deutschland

Rund 37 Prozent der abhängig Vollzeitbeschäftigten haben den ihnen zustehenden Urlaub im letzten Jahr nicht voll in Anspruch genommen. Die Zahl der tatsächlich genommenen Urlaubstage lag für jeden Arbeitnehmer im Durchschnitt um drei Tage unter seinem eigentlichen Urlaubsanspruch. Demnach werden etwa zwölf Prozent des Gesamtanspruchsvolumens an Urlaub nicht genutzt. Dies belegen die vom DIW Berlin zusammen mit TNS Infratest Sozialforschung erhobenen Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP). Es zeigt sich, dass jüngere Arbeitnehmer ihren Urlaub weniger ausschöpfen als ältere. Auch schöpfen vor allem Arbeitnehmer in kleineren Betrieben und Personen mit kurzer Betriebszugehörigkeit ihren Urlaub nicht voll aus. Die Unterausschöpfung von Urlaub geht mit kurzfristigen Einkommenszuwächsen einher. Es zeigen sich aber auch Einschränkungen der Lebensqualität

Low level of equal opportunities in Germany: Family background shapes individual economic success

For many years, securing equal life opportunities has been a normative goal shared by all democratic societies in the western world. Although, in principle, all citizens enjoy the same rights, in reality, individual life opportunities still vary according to family background which, in turn, shapes the prevailing pattern of social inequality. This is not a specifically German phenomenon. Based on a new methodology, the present findings demonstrate that, in Germany, family background has a significant impact on individual earnings, family income, hourly wages, and also educational success: 40 percent of individual earnings inequality can be explained by family background. In the case of educational achievement, this figure even exceeds 50 percent. By international standards, this places equality of opportunity in Germany at a similarly low level as in the US and significantly lower than in Denmark

How important is cultural background for the level of intergenerational mobility?

Using results on brother correlations of different groups of second generation immigrants based on administrative data from Denmark, this note analyzes the role of cultural background in the determination of the level of intergenerational mobility. The estimated correlations indicate that cultural background is not an important factor for the level of intergenerational mobility

Umfang und Folgen der Nichtinanspruchnahme von Urlaub in Deutschland

Rund 37 Prozent der abhängig Vollzeitbeschäftigten haben den ihnen zustehenden Urlaub im letzten Jahr nicht voll in Anspruch genommen. Die Zahl der tatsächlich genommenen Urlaubstage lag für jeden Arbeitnehmer im Durchschnitt um drei Tage unter seinem eigentlichen Urlaubsanspruch. Demnach werden etwa zwölf Prozent des Gesamtanspruchsvolumens an Urlaub nicht genutzt. Dies belegen die vom DIW Berlin zusammen mit TNS Infratest Sozialforschung erhobenen Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP). Es zeigt sich, dass jüngere Arbeitnehmer ihren Urlaub weniger ausschöpfen als ältere. Auch schöpfen vor allem Arbeitnehmer in kleineren Betrieben und Personen mit kurzer Betriebszugehörigkeit ihren Urlaub nicht voll aus. Die Unterausschöpfung von Urlaub geht mit kurzfristigen Einkommenszuwächsen einher. Es zeigen sich aber auch Einschränkungen der Lebensqualität.Vacation, SOEP, labour supply

How Important Is the Family? Evidence from Sibling Correlations in Permanent Earnings in the US, Germany and Denmark

This paper is the first to analyze intergenerational economic mobility based on sibling correlations in permanent earnings in Germany and to provide a cross-country comparison of Germany, Denmark, and the US. The main findings are as follows: the importance of family and community background in Germany is higher than in Denmark and comparable to that in the US. This holds true for brothers and sisters. In Denmark 20 percent of the inequality in permanent earnings can be attributed to family and community factors shared by brothers while the corresponding estimates are 43 percent in Germany and 45 percent in the US. For sisters the estimates are 19 percent for Denmark, 39 percent for Germany and 29 percent for the US. This ranking is shown to be robust against alternative approaches

Extent and effects of employees in Germany forgoing vacation time

Around 37 percent of those in paid full-time employment in Germany did not claim their full vacation entitlement last year. The number of vacation days actually taken by each employee was on average three days less than the full entitlement. This equates to around twelve percent of the overall volume of vacation entitlement not being used. This figure is corroborated by data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) collected by DIW Berlin together with the survey institute TNS Infratest Sozialforschung. It has been found that younger employees use less of their vacation than older ones. Moreover, employees working for smaller companies and persons who have joined a company more recently in particular do not take their full vacation entitlement. Not taking vacation is linked to short-term increases in income. There is, however, also evidence that it affects quality of life