Journal articles on the topic 'Income distribution – Germany'
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1
Bach, Stefan, Giacomo Corneo, and Viktor Steiner. "Effective Taxation of Top Incomes in Germany." German Economic Review 14, no. 2 (May 1, 2013): 115–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0475.2012.00570.x.
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Abstract We exploit a dataset that includes the individual tax returns of all taxpayers in the top percentile of the income distribution in Germany to pin down the effective income taxation of households with very high incomes. Taking tax base erosion into account, we find that the top percentile of the income distribution pays an effective average tax rate of 30.5% and contributes more than a quarter of total income tax revenue. Within the top percentile, the effective average tax rate is first increasing, then decreasing, with income. Since the 1990s, effective average tax rates for the German super-rich have fallen by about a third, with major reductions occurring in the wake of the personal income tax reform of 2001-05. As a result, the concentration of net incomes at the very top of the distribution has strongly increased in Germany.
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Späth, Jochen, and Kai Daniel Schmid. "The Distribution of Household Savings in Germany." Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 238, no. 1 (March 26, 2018): 3–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2017-0120.
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Abstract Against the ongoing assessment of the root causes of rising economic inequality in industrialized countries, analyses of the distribution of savings along the income and wealth distribution are of high interest. We analyze the concentration of household savings in Germany by estimating saving amounts, saving rates and shares in aggregate savings across income and wealth groups. Our calculations are based on the Sample Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (EVS), containing more than 40,000 households in Germany. We show that the concentration of savings is substantial: while the top income decile’s share in total savings reaches 60 percent, the lower half of the income distribution on average does not save at all. Across wealth groups the concentration of savings is somewhat less pronounced. We also look beyond the top income threshold underlying the EVS (18,000 euros of monthly net household income) and demonstrate that corrected saving rates for the top income groups are considerably higher than those derived from the EVS alone. Hence, the top income groups’ shares in aggregate savings exceed estimated shares solely based on EVS data, revealing a substantially more pronounced concentration of savings along the income distribution.
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Drechsel-Grau, Moritz, Andreas Peichl, Kai D. Schmid, Johannes F. Schmieder, Hannes Walz, and Stefanie Wolter. "Inequality and income dynamics in Germany." Quantitative Economics 13, no. 4 (2022): 1593–635. http://dx.doi.org/10.3982/qe1912.
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We provide a comprehensive analysis of income inequality and income dynamics for Germany over the last two decades. Combining personal income tax and social security data allows us—for the first time—to offer a complete picture of the distribution of annual earnings in Germany. We find that cross‐sectional inequality rose until 2009 for men and women. After the Great Recession, inequality continued to rise at a slower rate for men and fell slightly for women due to compression at the lower tail. We further document substantial gender differences in average earnings and inequality over the life cycle. While for men earnings rise and inequality falls as they grow older, many women reduce working hours when starting a family such that average earnings fall and inequality increases. Men's earnings changes are on average smaller than women's but are substantially more affected by the business cycle. During the Great Recession, men's earnings losses become magnified and gains are attenuated. Apart from recession years, earnings changes are significantly right‐skewed reflecting the good overall state of the German labor market and increasing labor supply. In the second part of the paper, we study the distribution of total income including incomes of self‐employed, business owners, and landlords. We find that total inequality increased significantly more than earnings inequality. Regarding income dynamics, entrepreneurs' income changes are more dispersed, less skewed, less leptokurtic, and less dependent on average past income than workers' income changes. Finally, we find that top income earners have become less likely to fall out of the top 1 and 0.1%.
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Flockton, Chris. "Employment, welfare support and income distribution in east Germany." German Politics 7, no. 3 (December 1998): 33–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09644009808404525.
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Biewen, Martin, Martin Ungerer, and Max Löffler. "Why Did Income Inequality in Germany Not Increase Further After 2005?" German Economic Review 20, no. 4 (December 1, 2019): 471–504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geer.12153.
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Abstract While income inequality in Germany considerably increased in the years before 2005, this trend stopped after 2005. We address the question of what factors were responsible for the break in the inequality trend after 2005. Our analysis suggests that income inequality in Germany did not continue to rise after 2005 for the following reasons. First, we observe that the general rise in wage inequality that explained a lot of the inequality increase before 2005, became less steep (but did not stop) after 2005. Second, despite further increases in wage inequality after 2005, inequality in annual labour incomes did not increase further after 2005 because increased within-year employment opportunities compensated otherwise rising inequality in annual labour incomes. Third, income inequality did not fall in a more marked way after 2005 because also the middle and the upper part of the distribution benefited from the employment boom after 2006. Finally, we provide evidence that the effect of a wide range of other factors that are often suspected to have influenced the distribution such as capital incomes, household structures, population ageing, changes in the tax and transfer system and the financial crisis of 2008 did not significantly alter the distribution after 2005.
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Detzer, Daniel. "Inequality and the Financial System— The Case of Germany." Pakistan Development Review 54, no. 4I-II (December 1, 2015): 585–608. http://dx.doi.org/10.30541/v54i4i-iipp.585-608.
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Income inequality is rising in Germany. This is true for both functional as well as personal income distribution. After reunification in 1990, a general increase in inequality can be observed. This trend becomes particularly pronounced in the 2000s. In the literature on financialisation a link between the developments in the financial sector, the financing behaviour of firms, and income distribution is established. Also, in the varieties of capitalism literature a connection between the prevailing institutions, among them the financial institutions, and the tendency of an economy towards higher or lower inequality is made. This study attempts to investigate if changes in the financial sphere may have caused the higher inequality in Germany. There are different ways in which the financial sector could have contributed to the increased inequality. Growth of the financial sector or large increases in incomes paid in this sector could lead to higher inequality directly. Alternatively, different behaviour of financial institutions and new financial actors could affect distribution in the non-financial sector so that the financial sector indirectly affects inequality.
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Ćwiek, Malgorzata Teresa, and Paweł Ulman. "Income and Poverty in Households in Selected European Countries." Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Oeconomica 6, no. 345 (December 30, 2019): 7–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/0208-6018.345.01.
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Incomes of population and poverty are key elements of the EU cohesion policy which aims at reducing disparities between the levels of development of individual regions. The traditionally appropriate study to evaluate the convergence of the Member States is the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU‑SILC). However, this is not the only source of information on income distribution and social inclusion in the European Union. In this article, the basis for calculations are the results of the fourth European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS), whose purpose is to measure both objective and subjective indicators of the standard of living of citizens and their households.
The aim of the paper is to assess the diversity of distributions of household incomes and the level of income poverty due to the selected socio‑demographic characteristics of the respondent or household in selected European countries in two periods: 2007 and 2016. Countries of the Visegrad Group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) were selected for the analysis, along with the Weimar Triangle (Poland, Germany, and France). Such a selection allowed us to compare the financial situation of households in Western Europe with those in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland becomes a natural link between all these countries.
The article uses modelling methods of income distribution, indicators of distance (overlapping) of distributions and aggregate indicators of the scope, depth and severity of poverty. Those ratios were determined on the basis of the use of relative. In order to ensure comparability of incomes of households with different demographic compositions, the analysis used equivalent incomes.
As a result of the preliminary analysis, differences were noted regarding the measured position, variation and asymmetry of equivalent incomes in the studied households. The applied gap measurements showed a significant disparity between the distributions of income in Western European countries (Germany, France) and the countries of the Visegrad Group, but the size of that differentation de creased significantly in 2016 relative to 2007. Important differentiation was also noted in terms of income poverty risk within the Visegrad Group: the highest proportion of households at risk of poverty exists in Poland and the lowest in the Czech Republic.
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D’Amico, Guglielmo, Biase Di, and Raimondo Manca. "Effects on taxation on the forecasting of income inequality: Evidence from Germany, Greece, and Italy." Panoeconomicus 60, no. 6 (2013): 707–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/pan1306707a.
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In this paper, we investigate the impact of the fiscal system on wealth redistribution in Germany, Greece, and Italy. We demonstrate the application of the model to the data of the quoted countries. We obtain the gross income distributions by starting from the net income distributions downloaded from the Eurostat website and by using the individual income tax rates of each country. We evaluate the Dynamic Theil's Entropy that allows us to recover the total inequality between the net and gross income distributions for each of these countries. Such a comparison allowed us to understand how the fiscal systems affect wealth distribution. These results can be used for planning welfare policies.
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Prante, Franz. "Macroeconomic effects of personal and functional income inequality: Theory and empirical evidence for the US and Germany." Panoeconomicus 65, no. 3 (2018): 289–318. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/pan1803289p.
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This paper presents a simple post-Kaleckian model of distribution and growth that incorporates personal income inequality and interdependent social norms. The model shows in an easily accessible manner that macroeconomic effects of changes in personal and functional income distribution can potentially reinforce or dampen each other. The resulting variety of demand and growth regimes is due to different distributional effects on consumption demand. Therefore, the second part of the paper investigates the empirical relevance of the additional demand regimes by estimating aggregate consumption functions with variables for personal and functional income distribution for the United States and Germany. We find similar effects of functional income distribution for both countries. However, for the US, we find positive long-run effects of personal income inequality on consumption. The effect is strongest for the top 10% income share and the Gini index and less strong for the top 5% and 1% income shares. While this is evidence for relative consumption patterns, it also supports the view that the ?super rich? are a relatively distant class for most people - questioning the notion of expenditure cascades from the very top to the very bottom. In contrast, for Germany we fail to find compelling evidence for effects of personal income distribution.
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Nießen, Désirée, Jule Adriaans, Stefan Liebig, and Clemens M. Lechner. "Justice Evaluation of the Income Distribution (JEID): Development and validation of a short scale for the subjective assessment of objective differences in earnings." PLOS ONE 18, no. 1 (January 26, 2023): e0281021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281021.
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Justice evaluations are proposed to provide a link between the objective level of inequality and the consequences at the individual and societal level. Available instruments, however, focus on the subjective perception of inequality and income distributions. In light of findings that subjective perceptions of inequality and income levels can be biased and subject to method effects, we present the newly developed Justice Evaluation of the Income Distribution (JEID) Scale, which captures justice evaluations of the actual earnings distribution. JEID comprises five items that provide respondents with earnings information for five groups at different segments along the distribution of earnings in a given country. We provide a German-language and an English-language version of the scale. The German-language version was developed and validated based on three comprehensive heterogeneous quota samples from Germany; the translated English-language version was validated in one comprehensive heterogeneous quota sample from the UK. Using latent profile analysis and k-means clustering, we identified three typical response patterns, which we labeled “inequality averse,” “bottom-inequality averse,” and “status quo justification.” JEID was found to be related to normative orientations in the sense that egalitarian views were associated with stronger injustice evaluations at the bottom and top ends of the earnings distribution. With a completion time of between 1.50 and 2.75 min, the JEID scale can be applied in any self-report survey in the social sciences to investigate the distribution, precursors, and consequences of individuals’ subjective evaluations of objective differences in earnings.
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Vesper, Dieter. "Steuern, Staatsausgaben und Umverteilung." PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft 25, no. 99 (June 1, 1995): 165–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v25i99.957.
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The government's financial policy always has distributive effects which are, however, difficult to estimate in the individual case. The past 15 years in the Federal Republic of Germany have been determined by a strong shift of the distributive relations for the benefit of profit income; this development was reinforced by the state. The way of financing German Unity by tax and contribution increases was also problematic in view of distribution policy. The increases especially burdened low and middle incomes, while self-employed were completely and civil servants were partially excepted from the increase in social security contributions. Not until after the reintroduction of the surcharge of solidarity (Solidaritätszuschlag) on January 1st 1995, the falseness in respect to distribution policy was corrected to some extent.
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Neumärker, Bernhard, Bianca Blum, Burhan Yalcin, and Sema Yalcin. "UBI in Times of Crisis: The Net Basic Income Discussing the Case of Germany." Journal for Markets and Ethics 9, no. 1 (June 1, 2021): 15–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/jome-2021-0002.
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Abstract The measures taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in, among other things, massive loss of earnings. Many people are therefore increasingly experiencing an income crisis in addition to the acute health crisis. Permanent existential insecurity remains for too many despite the numerous aid packages. The principle of need-based assistance and the determination of need for the provision of aid are proving to be insufficient. In the current crisis, earned incomes are affected most of all due to the measures taken. This leads to an asymmetric distribution of the crisis-induced burdens and thus to an asymmetric distribution of risks and burdens between performance-related and non-performance-related income, which exacerbates the redistribution in favor of capital income. The model of net basic income (NBI) shows one way to come to a solution of these problems in the crisis. Every adult person in Germany receives a monthly unconditional basic income of e.g. 550 Euros (calculated in this approach) during the crisis period. This amount is supplemented by the suspension of rent, lease, repayment and interest obligations during this period of income loss. The amount of money paid to each person is the net share of the crisis basic income. The household savings from suspending rent, lease, principal, and interest payments is the gross. After the crisis, the NBI can be raised to a full participatory UBI as economic momentum increases. In step with this, rental, lease and capital services are to be paid again in full contract amount.
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Hakovirta, Mia, and Merita Jokela. "Contribution of child maintenance to lone mothers’ income in five countries." Journal of European Social Policy 29, no. 2 (February 13, 2018): 257–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0958928717754295.
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This study uses the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) data from 2013 to study (1) the contribution of child maintenance to the income packages of lone mothers, (2) the proportion of lone mothers receiving child maintenance and the level of child maintenance for those receiving it and (3) the extent to which child maintenance is helping families who may need it the most (those at the low end of the income distribution), compared with families with moderate or higher incomes. Our analysis covers data from five countries: Finland, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Our results show that in all countries except the United Kingdom, labour income is an important source of income for lone mothers and less than 40 percent of income comes from social transfers. Child maintenance contributes significantly to the income of lone mothers, particularly in Spain, followed by the United States and Germany. We find the highest coverage of child maintenance receipt in Finland. In the other countries, only one-third of lone mother households receive child maintenance. The median amounts of maintenance are the lowest in the United Kingdom and Finland, but there is great variation in the level of child maintenance within countries. The comparison of the quintile groups reveals that in the United States, the lone mothers in lowest income quintile do not seem to benefit as much from child maintenance compared with the highest income quintiles, whereas in Finland, Germany and Spain, more lone mothers in the low-income quintiles receive maintenance. However, amounts are quite equal across income quintiles.
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Behringer, Jan, and Till van Treeck. "Income Distribution and Growth Models: A Sectoral Balances Approach." Politics & Society 47, no. 3 (July 22, 2019): 303–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0032329219861237.
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This article revisits the macroeconomic foundations and political economy of national growth models. It argues that the neo-Kaleckian model, which inspired the emergent growth model perspective and focuses primarily on the functional income distribution, can be usefully complemented by theories of private household consumption that focus on the personal distribution of income. The examples of the export-led and debt-led growth models of Germany and the United States, respectively, show how institutional differences help to explain why different countries developed different patterns of income distribution and how income distribution and institutions interacted to generate financial imbalances in different sectors of the economy (i.e., the private household sector, the private corporate sector, and the government sector).
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Haupt, Andreas. "The Long Road to Economic Independence of German Women, 1973 to 2011." Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 5 (January 2019): 237802311881874. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2378023118818740.
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Over the past few decades, women’s educational attainment and subsequent labor market participation have increased substantially in Germany. In comparison with these well-studied trends, little is known about changes in women’s contributions to couples’ joint income that may be associated with them. To address this question, the author provides a visualization of changes in the distribution of women’s income contributions in Germany from 1973 to 2011.
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Bach, Stefan, Giacomo Corneo, and Viktor Steiner. "FROM BOTTOM TO TOP: THE ENTIRE INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN GERMANY, 1992-2003." Review of Income and Wealth 55, no. 2 (June 2009): 303–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00317.x.
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Gómez León, María, and Herman J. De Jong. "Inequality in turbulent times: income distribution in Germany and Britain, 1900–50." Economic History Review 72, no. 3 (September 6, 2018): 1073–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12770.
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Wenau, Georg, Pavel Grigoriev, and Vladimir Shkolnikov. "Socioeconomic disparities in life expectancy gains among retired German men, 1997–2016." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 73, no. 7 (April 10, 2019): 605–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-211742.
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BackgroundAlthough estimates of socioeconomic mortality disparities in Germany exist, the trends in these disparities since the 1990s are still unknown. This study examines mortality trends across socioeconomic groups since the late 1990s among retired German men aged 65 and above.MethodsLarge administrative data sets were used to estimate mortality among retired German men, grouped according to their working-life biographies. The data covered the years 1997–2016 and included more than 84.1 million person-years and 4.3 million deaths. Individual pension entitlements served as a measure of lifetime income. Changes in total life expectancy at age 65 over time were decomposed into effects of group-specific mortality improvements and effects of compositional change.ResultsOver the two decades studied, male mortality declined in all income groups in both German regions. As mortality improved more rapidly among higher status groups, the social gradient in mortality widened. Since 1997, the distribution of pension entitlements of retired East German men has shifted substantially downwards. As a result, the impact of the most disadvantaged group on total mortality has increased and has partly attenuated the overall improvement.ConclusionOur results demonstrate that socioeconomic deprivation has substantial effects on levels of mortality in postreunification Germany. While East German retirees initially profited from the transition to the West German pension system, subsequent cohorts had to face challenges associated with the transition to the market economy. The results suggest that postreunification unemployment and status decline had delayed effects on old-age mortality in East Germany.
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Zagel, Hannah, and Richard Breen. "Family demography and income inequality in West Germany and the United States." Acta Sociologica 62, no. 2 (August 29, 2018): 174–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0001699318759404.
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Income inequality has grown in many countries over the past decades. Single country studies have investigated how trends in family demography, such as rising female employment, assortative mating and single parenthood, have affected this development. But the combined effects have not been studied sufficiently, much less in a comparative perspective. We apply decomposition and counterfactual analyses to Luxembourg Income Study data from the 1990s and 2000s for West Germany and the USA. We counterfactually analyse how changes in the distribution of men’s and women’s education, employment and children across households between the 1990s and 2000s affected overall inequality (Theil index). We find that changes in family demography between the 1990s and the 2000s explain inequality growth in West Germany but not in the USA, where the effects of gendered changes in education and employment offset each other. In West Germany, changes in the distribution of household types, and particularly changes in men’s employment and education, contributed to increases in income inequality. The country differences in the relationship between changes in family demography and inequality growth reflect how the decline in men’s and the growth in women’s employment played out differently in the weakening male breadwinner context in West Germany and in the universal breadwinner context in the USA.
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Ganßmann, Heiner, and Grover McArthur. "Arbeitslosigkeit und Einkommensverteilung." PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft 25, no. 99 (June 1, 1995): 205–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v25i99.959.
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The development of the wage-profit-distribution in post-war Germany is analyzed, applying the»cost-of-job-loss«-concept which has been elaborated in the social-structure-of-accumulation framework by radical US-economists. Statistical estimates show that the costs of job loss (as adeterminant of work and conflict behavior of workers) exercise a significant influence on the development of income distribution in (West) Germany.
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Nikiforov, Yuriy S. "Economic inequality global knowledge in the context of historical research of social policy issues." Vestnik of Kostroma State University, no. 3 (2019): 211–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2019-25-3-211-214.
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The article presents an overview of the international scientific conference "The Global Knowledge of Economic Inequality. The Measurement of Income and Wealth Distribution since 1945", which took place on November 15 to 17, 2018, at the German Historical Institute London (United Kingdom). The conference was dedicated to the state and to prospects of research into the problems of economic inequality in the world. The main attention of the conference participants was focused on issues of the welfare state, economic inequality, its measurement, income, wealth, and poverty in various perspectives. More than 30 people made presentations in English and in discussions, including scientists from the UK, China, Russia, the USA, Germany, France and other countries.
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Ochsen, Carsten, and Heinz Welsch. "Technology, Trade, and Income Distribution in West Germany: A Factor-Share Analysis, 1976–1994." Journal of Applied Economics 8, no. 2 (November 2005): 321–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15140326.2005.12040631.
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Hein, Eckhard, and Daniel Detzer. "Finance-Dominated Capitalism and Income Distribution: A Kaleckian Perspective on the Case of Germany." Italian Economic Journal 1, no. 2 (November 25, 2014): 171–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40797-014-0001-4.
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Parolin, Zachary J., and Janet C. Gornick. "Pathways toward Inclusive Income Growth: A Comparative Decomposition of National Growth Profiles." American Sociological Review 86, no. 6 (December 2021): 1131–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00031224211054808.
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Despite rising interest in income inequality, scholars remain divided over the mechanisms underlying inclusive income growth and how these mechanisms vary across countries. This study introduces the concept of national growth profiles, that is, the additive contribution of changes in taxes, transfers, composition, and other factors including market institutions to changes across a country’s income distribution. We present a decomposition framework to measure national growth profiles for eight high-income countries from the 1980s to 2010s. Our findings adjudicate competing sociological and economic perspectives on rising inequality. First, we find that policy-driven changes in taxes and transfers are the dominant drivers of inclusive growth at the tails of the income distributions. Second, rising educational attainment contributes most to income growth across the distribution, but consistently contributes to less-inclusive growth. When changes in education are considered, changes in assortative mating and single parenthood have little consequence for changes in inequality. Third, changes to other factors including market institutions increased inequality in countries such as the United States, but less so in France and Germany. Had the United States matched the changes to Dutch tax policy, Danish transfer policy, or other factors of most other countries, it could have achieved more inclusive income growth than observed.
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Müller-Thomczik, Sandra, and Lukas Reiter. "Splitting of Corporate Taxes in Germany and Formulaic Distribution of a CCCTB – Critical Comparison." Central European Economic Journal 9, no. 56 (January 1, 2022): 269–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ceej-2022-0016.
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Abstract The introduction of a formulaically apportioned common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) could represent a milestone in international taxation. No agreement has yet been reached, however. In contrast, Germany already has a long-standing system that apportions corporate taxes by splitting trade tax and corporate income tax. This conceptual study, presented at the European Accounting Association (EAA) Congress in Bergen in 2022, will examine whether the German method of splitting could lead to some lessons for an appropriate design for an international profit distribution formula. Methodologically, we use a two-step approach: First, we compare the designs, and then we juxtapose both on a factual level. Next, we ask what the objectives these mechanisms have; do they even coincide? If the goals are not comparable, one cannot indisputably serve as a model for the other. We determine that, even though there are partial deviations, a closer look reveals significant overlaps; however, the German implementation is far from consistent and prioritises practicability. This leads us to our main result: The German system makes a clear value decision towards practicability, although there is a different set of aims. For the implementation of formulaic EU profit sharing, the lesson to be learned is that practicability should play a central role in the design of the formula. This lesson is important and helpful to accompany and support the implementation process in the EU.
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Walter, Paul, Marcus Groß, Timo Schmid, and Katja Weimer. "Iterative Kernel Density Estimation Applied to Grouped Data: Estimating Poverty and Inequality Indicators from the German Microcensus." Journal of Official Statistics 38, no. 2 (June 1, 2022): 599–635. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/jos-2022-0027.
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Abstract The estimation of poverty and inequality indicators based on survey data is trivial as long as the variable of interest (e.g., income or consumption) is measured on a metric scale. However, estimation is not directly possible, using standard formulas, when the income variable is grouped due to confidentiality constraints or in order to decrease item nonresponse. We propose an iterative kernel density algorithm that generates metric pseudo samples from the grouped variable for the estimation of indicators. The corresponding standard errors are estimated by a non-parametric bootstrap that accounts for the additional uncertainty due to the grouping. The algorithm enables the use of survey weights and household equivalence scales. The proposed method is applied to the German Microcensus for estimating the regional distribution of poverty and inequality in Germany.
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Kluve, Jochen, and Sebastian Schmitz. "Back to Work: Parental Benefits and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in the Medium Run." ILR Review 71, no. 1 (May 23, 2017): 143–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0019793917710933.
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The authors estimate policy impacts of a generous parental benefit in Germany by using a natural experiment and German census data. They estimate policy effects for the short run (first two years after childbirth) as well as for the medium run (that is, three to five years after childbirth). Although the results confirm the evidence from previous studies for the short run, pronounced patterns emerge for the medium run. First, effects on mothers’ employment probability are positive, significant, and large, ranging up to 10%. These gains are driven primarily by increases in part-time employment and working hours but also by full-time employment for high-income mothers. Moreover, mothers return to their previous employers at significantly higher rates, and employers reward this by raising job quality. The overall positive and sizeable impacts of the reform are centered on mothers from the medium and high terciles of the income distribution; low-income mothers do not benefit.
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Mirkov, Andjelka, and Zeljka Manic. "Perceptions of the fairness of income distribution in Serbia: A comparative perspective." Sociologija 63, no. 2 (2021): 203–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/soc2102203m.
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The paper examines perceptions of the fairness of income distribution in Serbia from a comparative perspective. The analysis is based on data collected under Round 9 of the European Social Survey in 2018/2019. Perceptions of the fairness of personal income in Serbia are compared with those from three post- Yugoslav countries (Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia) and three developed capitalist countries (Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The research findings indicate that the vast majority of Serbian citizens perceive their personal income (gross and net pay, pensions and social benefits) as being unfairly low. From a comparative perspective, it is noticeable that the perceived fairness of income distribution is influenced by a contextual variable that combines the effects of economic development, degree of income inequality and path dependency. Income from work (gross and net pay) is more often perceived as unfairly low in the post-Yugoslav countries of the Western Balkans (Serbia and Montenegro) than in the post-Yugoslav countries that are members of the European Union (Croatia and Slovenia). When it comes to perceptions of the fairness of pensions and social benefits, the two groups of the post-Yugoslav countries do not differ from each other. All types of income are more likely to be perceived as unfairly low in the Western Balkan states than in the developed capitalist countries.
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Stockhammer, Englebert, Joel Rabinovich, and Niall Reddy. "Distribution, wealth and demand regimes in historical perspective: the USA, the UK, France and Germany, 1855–2010." Review of Keynesian Economics 9, no. 3 (July 19, 2021): 337–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/roke.2021.03.03.
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Most empirical macroeconomic research is limited to the period since World War II. This paper analyses the effects of changes in income distribution and in private wealth on consumption and investment covering a period from as early as 1855 through to 2010 for the UK, France, Germany and the USA, based on the data set of Piketty and Zucman (2014). We contribute to the study of wealth effects, of financialization, and of the nature of demand regimes. We find that overall domestic demand has been wage-led in the USA, the UK and Germany. Total investment responds positively to higher wage shares, which is driven by residential investment. For corporate investment alone, we find a negative relation. Wealth effects are found to be positive and significant for consumption in the USA and the UK, but weaker in France and Germany. Investment is negatively affected by private wealth in the USA and the UK, but positively in France and Germany.
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Małecka-Ziembińska, Edyta, and Radosław Ziembiński. "Application of Genetic Algorithm to Optimal Income Taxation." Journal of Risk and Financial Management 13, no. 11 (October 23, 2020): 251. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13110251.
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This paper, intended for researchers, introduces a stochastic method for calculating the optimal tax schedule based on taxpayer utility, population skill distribution, and wages. It implements and extends the classic approach to optimal income tax calculation introduced by J.A. Mirrlees. A genetic algorithm is applied instead of the numerical or analytical method of solving the problem. In the experimental part of the article, we took basic statistics for Germany in 2017 to infer about the distribution skills and wages of the working population. Their aim was to verify whether our approach would give similar results to those known from the literature on the subject. Thus, we have calculated the impact of the taxpayer attitude to work and budget external flows on the income tax schedule. Then, we measured the convergence of the search process across multiple runs of the algorithm. Analysis of obtained results brought us to the conclusion that they are similar to one known from the literature.
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Wise, Ramsey, and Christoph Zangger. "Educational Homogamy and Inter-Couple Income Inequality: Linking Demographic and Socio-Economic Consequences of Educational Expansion in Germany and Switzerland." Swiss Journal of Sociology 43, no. 3 (November 1, 2017): 587–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/sjs-2017-0029.
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AbstractHow is educational expansion associated with increased educational homogamy and income inequality? Using SOEP and SHP panel data, we randomly match couples and compare the resulting income distribution to the observed one. Educational homogamy thereby has had only a marginal impact on earnings-based income inequality between couples, which is largely due to the endogenous decision-making of couples concerning working time.
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Stockhammer, Engelbert, Eckhard Hein, and Lucas Grafl. "Globalization and the effects of changes in functional income distribution on aggregate demand in Germany." International Review of Applied Economics 25, no. 1 (January 2011): 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02692170903426096.
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PEICHL, ANDREAS, NICO PESTEL, and HILMAR SCHNEIDER. "DOES SIZE MATTER? THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE ON INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN GERMANY." Review of Income and Wealth 58, no. 1 (April 18, 2011): 118–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2011.00448.x.
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Schäfer, Claus. "Lower pay - a better world?" Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 6, no. 4 (November 2000): 687–716. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425890000600410.
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This article considers the clam that low wages or a greater degree of wage differentiation is a way to achieve higher employment and other desired outcomes. The empirical evidence for both Germany and the USA indicates that this is not the case. Taking Germany as an example, it is shown, among other things, that no 'employment miracle'has occurred even though wage differentials have increased in many forms, including within full-time work. The example of the USA illustrates very well that highly differentiated wages, in the context of a very unequal distribution of income, can even cause economic damage in the longer run - not to mention the social harm it inflicts. Thus the empirical evidence suggests that, on the contrary, flat income hierarchies are conducive to economic efficiency.
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Priewe, Jan. "Vom Lohnarbeiter zum Shareholder?" PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft 31, no. 122 (March 1, 2001): 103–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v31i122.754.
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The paper investigates the impact of some features of the 90s in Germany: shareholder-value orientation and changes in the distribution of share capital, booming asset prices, profit-sharing schemes including option plans, increased capital funded old-age provisions. Two propositions are discussed and, finally, denied: Due to these trends there might emerge a tendency towards a more equal distribution of capital stocks, and a relevant portion of employees might turn out as shareholders with considerable non-wage income. However, despite severe shortcomings in the data base a wave of further wealth concentration can be observed, and the workers´ share in capital assets has remained insignificant, apart from a small but increasing stratum of middle and high income employees.
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Frick, Joachim R., Richard Hauser, Klaus M�ller, and Gert G. Wagner. "Income distribution in East Germany in the first five years after the fall of the wall." MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies 5, no. 4 (1995): 79–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00996596.
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Kolluru, Mythili, and Tetiana Semenenko. "Income Inequalities in EU Countries: Gini Indicator Analysis." ECONOMICS 9, no. 1 (June 1, 2021): 125–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2021-0007.
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Abstract Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” According to the World Economic Forum (2021), income disparity is at the top of global risks in the coming years. The development of income inequality is a growing concern worldwide, particularly since the Great Recession. This study is based on available data on the Gini coefficient of equivalized disposable income from 2005 to 2019 for the 27 European Union countries. We found that the indicator’s value demonstrates a reasonably even distribution of income (not exceeding 40%) in all European Union countries, except Bulgaria. We used the FORECAST ETS function (Excel for Microsoft 365) that is based on the AAA version of the Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to conduct our analysis. We grouped the EU 27 countries to investigate income equality behavior. According to the interval’s median of the sample’s standard deviation, we selected Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria for further investigation. We conclude the absence of general trends in the inequality of income distribution in society due to the financial crisis factors. The research presents exploratory insights into income inequality in the European Union.
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Hüther, Michael, and Matthias Diermeier. "Perception and Reality—Economic Inequality as a Driver of Populism?" Analyse & Kritik 41, no. 2 (November 1, 2019): 337–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/auk-2019-0021.
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Abstract Can the rise of populism be explained by the growing chasm between rich and poor? With regard to Germany, such a causal relationship must be rejected. Income distribution in Germany has been very stable since 2005, and people’s knowledge on actual inequality and economic development is limited: inequality and unemployment are massively overestimated. At the same time, a persistently isolationist and xenophobic group with diverse concerns and preferences has emerged within the middle classes of society that riggers support for populist parties. This mood is based on welfare chauvinism against immigration rather than on a general criticism of distribution. Since the immigration of recent years will inevitably affect the relevant indicators concerning distribution, an open, cautious but less heated approach is needed in the debate on the future of the welfare state. In order to address and take the local concerns of citizens seriously, an increased exchange with public officials on the ground is needed.
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Mehmood, Khalid, Yaser Iftikhar, Shouming Chen, Shaheera Amin, Alia Manzoor, and Jinlong Pan. "Analysis of Inter-Temporal Change in the Energy and CO2 Emissions Efficiency of Economies: A Two Divisional Network DEA Approach." Energies 13, no. 13 (June 28, 2020): 3300. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en13133300.
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Measuring changes in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of various large economies is fundamental for analyzing the impact and effectiveness of various policies in this direction. This study analyzes intertemporal changes in energy and CO2 emissions efficiency of economies by applying a network data envelopment analysis approach that takes into consideration the internal structure of the analysis units. We have applied two divisional network data envelopment analysis models for analysis of the economic and distributive efficiency of economies from 2001 to 2011. The results are very useful in analyzing the situation; we found that none of the economies was efficient in both aspects in the sample period, implying that none of the countries in the analysis was efficient in the production and distribution of economic outputs simultaneously. Brazil, Canada, China and Germany showed improvement in economic efficiency but the distribution efficiency of the most of the economies is low because of the increase in population and high-income class. Most of the countries had an increase in the high-income class but China performed better in the second division because it has managed to improve its middle-income class in the recent past by moving more people from low-income class to middle income class. It is suggested that countries should emphasize on economic restructuring and expansion of the middle-income class to improve their performance in the production and distribution of economic outputs.
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Chen, Hui, Sven Voigt, and Xiaoming Fu. "Data-Driven Analysis on Inter-City Commuting Decisions in Germany." Sustainability 13, no. 11 (June 2, 2021): 6320. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13116320.
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Understanding commuters’ behavior and influencing factors becomes more and more important every day. With the steady increase of the number of commuters, commuter traffic becomes a major bottleneck for many cities. Commuter behavior consequently plays an increasingly important role in city and transport planning and policy making. Although prior studies investigated a variety of potential factors influencing commuting decisions, most of them are constrained by the data scale in terms of limited time duration, space and number of commuters under investigation, largely owing to their dependence on questionnaires or survey panel data; as such only small sets of features can be explored and no predictions of commuter numbers have been made, to the best of our knowledge. To fill this gap, we collected inter-city commuting data in Germany between 1994 and 2018, and, along with other data sources, analyzed the influence of GDP, housing and the labor market on the decision to commute. Our analysis suggests that the access to employment opportunities, housing price, income and the distribution of the location’s industry sectors are important factors in commuting decisions. In addition, different age, gender and income groups have different commuting patterns. We employed several machine learning algorithms to predict the commuter number using the identified related features with reasonably good accuracy.
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Hein, Eckhard, and Achim Truger. "Fiscal policy and rebalancing in the euro area: A critique of the German debt brake from a post-Keynesian perspective." Panoeconomicus 61, no. 1 (2014): 21–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/pan1401021h.
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The German debt brake is often regarded as a great success story and has therefore served as a role model for the Euro area and it?s Fiscal Compact. In this paper we fundamentally criticise the debt brake. Firstly, we show that it suffers from serious shortcomings and that its success is far from certain even from a mainstream point of view. Secondly, we show that, from a Post-Keynesian perspective, the debt brake completely neglects the requirements for fiscal policies of member countries in a currency union like the Euro area. It will prevent fiscal policy from contributing to the necessary rebalancing in the Euro area. Thirdly, we show that alternative scenarios, which could avoid the deflationary pressures of the German Debt Brake on domestic demand and contribute to internally rebalancing the Euro area, are extremely unlikely as they would have to rely on unrealistic shifts in the functional income distribution and/or investment and savings behaviour in Germany.
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Liu, Shuyan, Matthias N. Haucke, Stephan Heinzel, and Andreas Heinz. "Long-Term Impact of Economic Downturn and Loneliness on Psychological Distress: Triple Crises of COVID-19 Pandemic." Journal of Clinical Medicine 10, no. 19 (October 6, 2021): 4596. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10194596.
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Background: The COVID-19 crisis poses global mental health and global economy challenges. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research investigating whether financial instability and social disruption may increase the risk of developing mental health problems over time that may potentially outlast the pandemic. Methods: We conducted an online survey for members of the general population (n = 2703) in Germany during the twelve months spanning from April 2020 to March 2021. We investigated the development of COVID-19 related psychological distress, the number of unemployed people, federal government debt, income distribution, and loneliness over the time period. Results: Over a period of twelve months, 53.6% of respondents in Germany reported experiencing psychological distress, varying from mild levels, 34.2%, to severe levels, 19.4%, of distress. High federal government debt, high incident COVID-19 cases, low incomes, and the prevalence of loneliness were found to be associated with increased long-term mental health problems. Psychological distress scores were most strongly increased in female and young respondents as well as those who reported fewer years of education, low income, and higher loneliness. Conclusions: Our study highlights factors that have a long-term impact on mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that specific mental-health services could be offered to support high-risk groups experiencing financial fragility and loneliness. For purposes of safeguarding their mental health there is a need to monitor and track such risk factors in real time.
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Zureck, Alexander, Viktoria Daus, and Philippe Krahnhof. "Critical Analysis of Pensions Taking into Account Selected Aspects of Financial Literacy." International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development 6, no. 3 (2020): 29–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.63.2003.
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In this study we investigate the impact of government debt on the economic growth of General financial education, so-called financial literacy, which plays an essential role in private retirement provisions. A study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2015 shows that financial literacy is not prevalent in Germany (OECD, 2015). The aim of this scientific paper is to underline the importance of financial literacy for private retirement provisions. Due to the falling level of pensions in Germany, investments in a private pension are essential. Therefore, a regression analysis is carried out. An academic goal is to analyze if gender, net income and academic degree have a positive impact on financial literacy. In summary, it can be said that there is a significant influence of gender. With regard to the significant imbalance in the gender distribution (three quarters are male), the data should be expanded in the future. While net income as well as academic degree both have positive effect, correlation was only shown for net income. An ideal level of private retirement provisions was not determined in the empirical study. Based on these empirical insights, it is recommended that the federal states should invest in the financial education of their citizens to counteract poverty in age.
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Steiner, Viktor, and Katharina Wrohlich. "Introducing Family Tax Splitting in Germany: How Would It Affect the Income Distribution, Work Incentives, and Household Welfare?" FinanzArchiv 64, no. 1 (2008): 115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1628/001522108x312096.
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Mons, M. N., J. M. L. van der Wielen, E. J. M. Blokker, M. I. Sinclair, K. F. A. M. Hulshof, F. Dangendorf, P. R. Hunter, and G. J. Medema. "Estimation of the consumption of cold tap water for microbiological risk assessment: an overview of studies and statistical analysis of data." Journal of Water and Health 5, S1 (September 1, 2007): 151–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wh.2007.141.
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The volume of cold tap water consumed is an essential element in quantitative microbial risk assessment. This paper presents a review of tap water consumption studies. Study designs were evaluated and statistical distributions were fitted to water consumption data from The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany and Australia. We conclude that the diary is to be preferred for collecting water consumption data. If a diary is not feasible, a 24 h recall would be the best alternative, preferably repeated at least once. From the studies evaluated, the mean daily consumption varies from 0.10 L to 1.55 L. No conclusions could be drawn regarding the effects of season, age and gender on tap water consumption. Physical activity, yearly income and perceived health status were reported to influence water consumption. Comparison of the different statistical probability distribution functions of the datasets demonstrated that the Poisson distribution performed better than the lognormal distribution as suggested by Roseberry and Burmaster. For quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) it is recommended to use country-specific consumption data and statistical distributions, if available. If no country specific data are available we recommend to use the Australian distribution data from the Melbourne diary study (Poisson, λ=3.49 glasses/d) as a conservative estimate.
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Ennis, Sean F., Pedro Gonzaga, and Chris Pike. "Inequality: A hidden cost of market power." Oxford Review of Economic Policy 35, no. 3 (2019): 518–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grz017.
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AbstractThis paper explores the impact of competition on inequality by developing a new model to illustrate how higher profits from market power, and associated higher prices, could influence the distribution of wealth and income. We analyse data from eight OECD countries—Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In an average country in the sample, market power increases the wealth of the richest 10 per cent by between 12 and 21 per cent for a range of reasonable assumptions about savings behaviour, while it reduces the income of the poorest 20 per cent by 11 per cent or more. The results contribute to the economic literature on the origins of inequality, suggesting that lack of competition may be one source of economic inequality.
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Buhl, Johannes, Christa Liedtke, Jens Teubler, Katrin Bienge, and Nicholas Schmidt. "Measure or Management?—Resource Use Indicators for Policymakers Based on Microdata by Households." Sustainability 10, no. 12 (November 28, 2018): 4467. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su10124467.
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Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) requires sustainable production and consumption. One indicator named in the SDG for resource use is the (national) material footprint. A method and disaggregated data basis that differentiates the material footprint for production and consumption according to, e.g., sectors, fields of consumption as well as socioeconomic criteria does not yet exist. We present two methods and its results for analyzing resource the consumption of private households based on microdata: (1) an indicator based on representative expenditure data in Germany and (2) an indicator based on survey data from a web tool. By these means, we aim to contribute to monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. Indicators based on microdata ensure that indicators can be disaggregated by socioeconomic characteristics like age, sex, income, or geographic location. Results from both methods show a right-skewed distribution of the Material Footprint in Germany and, for instance, an increasing Material Footprint with increasing household income. The methods enable researchers and policymakers to evaluate trends in resource use and to differentiate between lifestyles and along socioeconomic characteristics. This, in turn, would allow us to tailor sustainable consumption policies to household needs and restrictions.
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König, T. "Gesundheitsfonds und morbiditätsorientierter Risikostrukturausgleich." Hämostaseologie 30, S 01 (2010): S70—S75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1619081.
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SummaryThe Gesundheitsfonds (national health fund) was established in Germany on January 1st, 2009, in combination with the morbiditybased risk structure equalization (RSA) in order to manage the cash flow between the statutory health insurances. The RSA equalizes income differences due to the varying levels of contributory income of the members of a health insurance (basic wage totals) and expenditure differences due to varying distribution of morbidity risks across different health insurances, as well as the varying numbers of non-contributing insured family members. Additionally, insured persons are allocated to morbidity groups according to a classification model based upon diagnoses and prescriptions anticipating medical expenses in the subsequent year. Haemophilia falls, among 80 disease entities, in the morbidity group which generates the highest risk supplement. Matching of prescribed drugs with disease entities facilitates disease grading and improves the accuracy of risk supplements.
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Sherwani, Mehkar, Afzaal Ali, Adnan Ali, and Sikander Hussain. "Determinants of halal meat consumption in Germany." Journal of Islamic Marketing 9, no. 4 (November 12, 2018): 863–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jima-01-2018-0009.
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of halal meat consumption within a Turkish Muslim migration population in Germany using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a conceptual framework. The role of self-identity as a Muslim, dietary acculturation in the host culture, moral obligation to purchase halal food and trust on the authenticity of available halal food are explored.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative cross-sectional survey design for the current study was adopted. Purposive sampling through self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from 517 Muslim consumers originated from Turkey and currently living in Germany. The analysis includes exploratory factor analysis, means scores, linear correlation and multiple regressions to examine the determinants of halal meat consumption.FindingsA positive personal attitude towards the consumption of halal meat, motivation to comply with the opinion of important persons and institutions and the perceived control over consuming halal meat predict the intention to eat halal meat among Muslims.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used self-identity, dietary acculturation, trust and moral obligation as moderator variables. Future research should also examine the moderating effects of values such as individualism/collectivism and materialism and demographic factors such as age, country of origin, education level and income level to increase the predictive power of the current TPB model.Practical implicationsPractical implications can be extended to those policymakers, marketing managers and advertising agencies dealing with food-related products. They can pursue strategies based on religious self-identity, dietary acculturation, trustworthiness and moral obligation factors in their distribution and communication efforts targeted at the growing local and international market of halal food.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies investigating the determinants of halal meat consumption in a Muslim population in Germany using the TPB within a food, religion and migration context.
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Izyumov, Alexei, and John Vahaly. "Rent-based income redistribution in developed market economies." Вестник Пермского университета. Серия «Экономика» = Perm University Herald. ECONOMY 16, no. 1 (2021): 39–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.17072/1994-9960-2021-1-39-53.
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Public-sector workers in many countries earn more, on average, than their private-sector peers with similar characteristics. In terms of economic theory, these rewards represent economic rents most of which paid by a nation’s taxpayers. In contrast to economic rents accruing to recipients at the top of income distribution, most of these payments flow from one group of workers to another. For this reason, we call these payments “horizontal” economic rents. The level of horizontal rents is analyzed in this paper for 28 OECD countries, mostly representing Europe, based on public-private sector pay gap data from a number of studies. We found that measured as a ratio of public-sector overpayments to GDP, the highest horizontal rents are paid to government workers in Mediterranean EU countries. These rents are relatively low in larger EU countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom and negative in Scandinavian countries, possibly reflecting the recognition of the non-monetary benefits of public employment, such as job security. Analyzing the determinants of horizontal rents, we found that their levels are lower in countries with stronger trade unions, as measured by trade-unions density and higher in countries with larger foreign-born populations. Macroeconomic variables, including GDP per capita, trade openness, labor force participation and government indebtedness were found to not measurably influence the level of horizontal rents. Further research is seen to be connected with a wider range of the countries under analysis, including the developing countries, and the other groups of employees with the horizontal economic rent, as well as the possible ways to decrease or to invalidate it as regards the practices analysis of the countries with the negligible or negative rent such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, and Iceland.