Between welfare state retrenchments, globalization, and declining returns to credentials: The European middle class under stress

in 2016 Conference Online Program (2016, May)

The Intensity and Shape of Inequality: The ABG Method of Distributional Analysis

in Review of Income and Wealth (2016), 62(1), 5268

Inequality is anisotropic: its intensity varies by income level. We here develop a new tool, the isograph, to focus on local inequality and illustrate these variations. This method yields three ... [more ▼]

Inequality is anisotropic: its intensity varies by income level. We here develop a new tool, the isograph, to focus on local inequality and illustrate these variations. This method yields three coefficients which summarize the shape of inequality: a main coefficient, Alpha, which measures inequality at the median, and two correction coefficients, Beta and Gamma, which pick up any differential curvature at the top and bottom of the distribution. The analysis of a set of 232 microdata samples from 41 different countries in the LIS datacenter archive allows us to provide a systematic overview of the properties of the ABG (Alpha Beta Gamma) coefficients, which are compared both to a set of standard indices (Atkinson indices, generalized entropy, Wolfson polarization, etc.) and the GB2 distribution. This method also provides a smoothing tool that reveals the differences in the shape of distributions (the strobiloid) and how these have changed over time. [less ▲]

Malaise in the Western Middle Classes

E-print/Working paper (2016)

Closing or Persisting Gender Gap? A Cohort Analysis of Education and Wages in the US and Europe

Scientific Conference (2016)

Jeunes générations, inégalités et problèmes sociaux : chômeurs, décrocheurs, Neets, au Luxembourg et chez nos voisins

in Georges, Nathalie; Schronen, Danielle; Urbé, Robert (Eds.) Sozialalmanach Inegalitéiten 2016 (2016)

The international debate on NEETS differs from Luxembourguish realities: the problem associated with unemployment or downward mobile youth as it is described in Japan, Australia or France has no perfect ... [more ▼]

The international debate on NEETS differs from Luxembourguish realities: the problem associated with unemployment or downward mobile youth as it is described in Japan, Australia or France has no perfect equivalent in Luxembourg, where the main problem of youth integration is housing shortage and increasing difficulties to gain autonomy, issues that are exacerbated for the children of immigrants. [less ▲]

Is income equality also better for your cognitive health? A multilevel analysis on trajectories of cognitive function at older ages

in PAA Server (2016)

This paper contributes to research on contextual associations with older-age cognitive function by investigating to which extent country-level income inequality is associated with older-age cognitive ... [more ▼]

This paper contributes to research on contextual associations with older-age cognitive function by investigating to which extent country-level income inequality is associated with older-age cognitive function and decline. Data came from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), providing information on cognitive function (fluency, immediate and delayed recall) of respondents aged 50-80 years coming from a total of 16 European countries that participated in at least two waves of SHARE. A total of 44,303 observations were available at first and second measurement, 13,509 observations at third measurement, and 9,736 observations at fourth measurement. Three-level hierarchical models (measurements nested within individuals nested within countries) were run, showing that income inequality was negatively associated with cognitive level but not with decline. The findings suggest that income inequality is not associated with cognitive trajectories. Mechanisms of maintaining cognitive function at older ages may not be susceptible to country-level income inequalities. [less ▲]

Cognitive inequalities in later life: Cross-country differences in the education-cognition gradient

in Gerontologist (2016), 56(S3), 428-429

Adaptation to Poverty in Long-Run Panel Data

in Review of Economics and Statistics (2016), 98

We consider the link between poverty and subjective well-being, and focus in particular on potential adaptation to poverty. We use panel data on almost 54,000 individuals living in Germany from 1985 to ... [more ▼]

We consider the link between poverty and subjective well-being, and focus in particular on potential adaptation to poverty. We use panel data on almost 54,000 individuals living in Germany from 1985 to 2012 to show first that life satisfaction falls with both the incidence and intensity of contemporaneous poverty. We then reveal that there is little evidence of adaptation within a poverty spell: poverty starts bad and stays bad in terms of subjective well-being. We cannot identify any cause of poverty entry which explains the overall lack of poverty adaptation. [less ▲]

Is income equality also better for your cognitive health? A multilevel analysis on trajectories of cognitive function at older ages.

Scientific Conference (2015, November)

Social epidemiology

in Wright, James D. (Ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2015)

The search of social determinants of health and disease has advanced substantially over the last decade. We present recent theoretical advancements, methodological approaches, and a selection of empirical ... [more ▼]

The search of social determinants of health and disease has advanced substantially over the last decade. We present recent theoretical advancements, methodological approaches, and a selection of empirical evidence for the three main research strands: First, social inequalities can explain health differences. Here, we first focus on hierarchic social stratification with regard to socioeconomic and social class differences influencing health, then we extend the view towards non-hierarchic social stratification with regard to ethno-cultural differences, lifestyle, and cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. We shortly mention social relations and social network as determinants of health. Last, we use the concept of social times to distinguish age, period, and cohort effects in population health. After presenting evidence on contextual social determinants of health, we close with methodological challenges, social policy implications, and translation to practice. [less ▲]