This study was prepared by Sven Neelsen while he was working with the ifo Institute for Economic Research. It was completed in December 2011 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich in May 2012. The study investigates long-run effects of...

Individuals differ not only by gender and hair color, they also exhibit heterogeneities in various probably not fully genetically determined dimensions as personality, preferences and skills. Moreover, individuals live in different social environments and yield unequal life outcomes as health or...