Inequality, Migration, Social Policy.
Labor supply responses to universal income support programs (with Florian Buhlmann)
High transfer withdrawal rates are common among social security systems in developed countries around the world. These withdrawal rates of income support programs targeted to low-income earners create high effective marginal tax rates (EMTRs) and thus provide little incentive to increase working hours for recipients, potentially trapping recipients into benefit programs. This research project analyzes how low income earners respond to these high EMTRs, using a feature of the German universal income support program (Grundsicherung – commonly referred to as Hartz IV). That is individuals receiving universal income support in Germany may earn up to 100 Euro in addition without any reduction in their social benefits payment. After 100 Euro, there is a transfer withdrawal rate of 80% in place. We use bunching methods and administrative data from German social security records (SIG -Sample of Integrated Welfare Benefit Biographies) to provide insights to the size of labor supply elasticities and welfare dependency created by high EMTRS.
The effect of migration on the earnings distribution – analysis of the eastern EU enlargement (with Katrin Sommerfeld and Cesar Barreto Sanchez)
A large literature investigates the effects from immigration on the wages of natives. Yet, very little is known about how immigration affects the distribution of wages or earnings. For Germany—where the share of foreign workers almost doubled in less than a decade—we show how foreign workers become increasingly overrepresented in the bottom of the earnings distribution. Using individual administrative data from German social security records (SIAB – Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies), we analyze increased migration to Germany in light of the EU eastern enlargement after 2011 and focus on substitutability and complementability of workers. In order to circumvent downgrading of education and experience of foreign workers, we measure their skill level by the position in the native earnings distribution. First results show that native workers did not suffer any wage decrease due to increased migration. Other foreign workers however did experience a decrease in wages in the lower part of the income distribution.
Hate crime and tourism (with Martin Lange and Carina Naisser)
This project studies the effect of hate crime against foreigners on local economic activity. We do so by exploiting a unique setting in Germany during a period of increased refugee migration in 2014 — 2018. Thereby, we are able to identify the impact of hate crime on tourism as an important economic factor at a regional level and put a price tag on hate crime with respect to regional economic activity. Our study examines this link in an event study framework using monthly data on serious hate crimes (assault and arson) and tourism activities at a regional level. First results point at prevailing negative effects on tourism in counties and travel zones that experienced hate crime against foreigners. Interestingly, these are only significant for native visitors, pointing at mostly inelastic foreign tourism.
Gehrsitz, Markus and Martin Ungerer (forthcoming), Jobs, Crime, and Votes – A Short-run Evaluation of the Refugee Crisis in Germany, Economica. Download
Biewen, Martin, Max Löffler and Martin Ungerer (2019), Why did income inequality in Germany not increase further after 2005?, German Economic Review 20 (4). Download
Hufe, Paul, Andreas Peichl, John Roemer and Martin Ungerer (2017), Inequality of income acquisition: the role of childhood circumstances, Social Choice and Welfare, 1-46. Download
Peichl, Andreas and Martin Ungerer (2016), Accounting for the Spouse when Measuring Inequality of Opportunity, Social Choice and Welfare. Download
Peichl, Andreas and Martin Ungerer (2016), Inequality of Opportunity: East vs. West Germany, Bulletin of Economic Research. Download