Geocoding of German administrative data : the case of the Institute for Employment Research

"Economic research addressing spatial questions is often constrained by the availability of data at a sufficiently fine regional scale. For this reason the 2009 cross-section of the Integrated Employment Biographies (IEB) of the Institute for Employment Research was geocoded. The IEB are collected from administrative processes of the Federal Employment Agency and include employees and their employing establishment, unemployed, jobseekers, benefit recipients and participants of employment measures. The geocodes assigned to the IEB serve as a basis to generate small regions that represent neighbourhoods. Additionally, the geocoded data itself allows for the application of research methods at a regional level that can be chosen independent of administrative areas. The corresponding data protection regulations have to be adhered to." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))