Economic Research
Economic Research
Hammer, Luisa (2025). What about the men, though? Relative wage opportunities and the persistence of employment gaps in couples, IAB-Discussion Paper (No. 01/2025).
Abstract: Gender gaps in employment have narrowed but remain substantial, particularly among couples. To estimate how improved female wage opportunities influence partners' employment choices, I exploit demand-driven wage changes in job tasks and German administrative data. Results indicate women respond positively, albeit at a diminishing rate, to relative wage improvements, while male partners also increase their labor supply in response. Consequently, the work hours gap within couples narrows, but doesn't close and even widens in certain groups. Potential explanations for these patterns building on Becker's household model include comparative advantages for women, and relative income preferences and gender identity norms for men.
Abstract: On December 8, 2024, the sudden collapse of Bashar al‑Assad’s regime, abruptly changed Syria’s political landscape and reshaped the return prospects for millions of Syrians living abroad. We exploit this unanticipated regime change as a natural experiment to estimate the causal impact of homeland developments on refugees’ settlement and return intentions. Drawing on novel survey data from Germany, launched just days before Assad’s fall, we find that the regime collapse significantly affected the expressed settlement intentions of Syrians in Germany. Respondents interviewed afterward were more likely to express temporary settlement intentions, more likely to report emigration considerations, and more likely to express uncertainty about their future in Germany. However, we find no effect on concrete short‑term emigration plans, suggesting that increased return aspirations reflect forward‑looking intentions rather than immediate behavioral change. Further analyses shows that legal security in Germany and weaker social or emotional integration correlate with a stronger preference for temporary stay.
Abstract: EU Eastern Enlargement elicited a rise in (temporary) labour market oriented immigration to Germany starting in May 2011. Taking into account that not all immigrants stay permanently and that outmigration flows are selective, this paper classifies recent EU immigrants into "new arrivals" and "stayers" drawing on administrative social security data (2005-2017). This novel strategy allows us to separately identify their potentially opposing short- and medium-run effects on labour market outcomes in Germany. We find a transitory negative effect on wages among German nationals, particularly at the bottom of the wage distribution; and a permanent positive effect on domestic full-time employment.
The Effects of Fathers’ Leave on Two Generations of Parents. Evidence from a Paternal Leave Reform in Denmark 1984 (joint with Timo Hener and Natalia Danzer)
Media coverage (selected): SZ, Tagesschau
Media coverage (selected): FAZ, DLF