ifo Center for Labor and Demographic Economics

Economic Uncertainty and the Family

Can changes in the fertility decisions of couples be attributed to demand-induced changes in labor market opportunities? Are people more likely to marry in recessions or in booms? Does youth unemployment affect intergenerational relations? The Center’s first research area aims to improve our understanding of the relationship between business cycles and family-related decisions. To that end, the Center has set up the junior research group EcUFam (Economic Uncertainty and the Family), which is led by postdoctoral researcher, comprised of three doctoral students, and funded by the Leibniz Competition (SAW). Deploying a variety of methods and datasets, the group conducts research into the extent and importance of economic uncertainty as induced by poor macroeconomic conditions for key family outcomes including fertility, marriage and divorce, intergenerational relationships, gender-role attitudes and infant health. The working group is located at the ifo Institute, but both the scope of its research and its scientific network are international, with project partners and supporting institutions in Europe and beyond.

The Economics of Violence Against Women

Violence against women is a global pandemic that poses serious health threats to women and also has adverse consequences on their children, both in the short- and long-term. Intimate partner violence, the most common form of violence against women, is the leading cause of female homicides worldwide. Within the European Union, estimates point to 22% of women experiencing intimate partner violence throughout their lifetime. In many developing countries, this rate far exceeds 30%. Against this background, the Center’s second research area aims to provide answers to three overarching questions. The first is fundamentally about the origins of violence against women: Given that the prevalence of violence against women varies considerably both across and within countries, what is the role of ancestral cultural factors and historical institutions in shaping those differences? This leads to the second question, which addresses the implications of changing economic and social environments. Considering that the last half-century has witnessed profound changes in women’s economic and social opportunities, what implications does this have for violence against women? And the third question is: which type of interventions might be effective in preventing violence against women? The Center addresses these questions from both a developed and a developing countries’ perspective. In so doing, it uses sound theoretical frameworks to derive hypotheses and, on that basis, implements empirical approaches that draw upon various unique data sources and utilise both quasi-experimental and experimental research designs.

Immigrant Integration

Immigrant children constitute the fastest-growing segment of the population in many European countries, thus shaping the future of these societies. The successful integration of immigrant children into host societies, both economic and social, is therefore an issue of paramount social importance. The Center’s third research area studies the determinants of immigrant children’s educational and social integration. Among other projects, a hallmark study was initiated in 2015: together with external collaborators, the Center collected data on over 4,500 15-year-old pupils at almost 60 secondary schools in Germany. Respondents participated in both a classical survey and a behavioural experiment (an investment game). This data collection represents the first attempt to combine a large-scale survey with a behavioural lab-in-the-field experiment. During the evaluation period, but also in the years ahead, it allows the Center to provide a comprehensive picture of immigrant children’s integration into the host society including traditional outcomes, such as their educational achievements, aspirations and expectations, ethnic identity, social network, civic and social engagement, and political interest, as well as novel experimental measures like cooperativeness, trust, and reciprocity. The newly-collected data will also allow for a first application of causal inference methods to experimental data on social behaviour, thus unearthing policy interventions that foster or hinder immigrant children’s social integration.

The Social Impact of Air and Noise Pollution

One of the most pressing issues in agglomerated areas around the world is environmental and noise pollution. As one of the main externalities of economic activity, the effects of pollution on health, productivity and human interaction are highly relevant for policymakers, but not yet fully understood. In its fourth research area, the Center analyses the impact of man-made environmental pollution, and focuses on empirically establishing causal links from air, soil and noise pollution to population health, education, early child development, productivity and behaviour. Furthermore, the Center also examines the effects of public transportation in metropolitan areas, focusing on its role in traffic congestion, road safety, pollution, and human health. The Center’s research in this area uses survey, administrative and big data in novel ways and exploits quasi-experimental research designs.

Prof. Dan Anderberg, Ph.D., Royal Holloway University of London

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bauernschuster, Universität Passau

Prof. Daniela del Boca, Collegio Carlo Alberto

Prof. Gordon B. Dahl, University of California, San Diego

Prof. Dr. Natalie Danzer, Freie Universität Berlin

Prof. Dr. Uwe Sunde, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Dr. Martin Braml, LMU Munich

Dr. Timo Hener, Aarhus University

CESifo Area on Labor Economics