Disconnectedness among young adults can have several dimensions. From a socio-economic viewpoint, failure in school, unemployment and the lack of a partner are among the most important ones. In our sample of respondents to the SOEP Youth Questionnaire, approximately 13% of young people had been...

This study examines to which extent the quality of mother-child interaction during infancy can predict cognitive (IQ) and noncognitive skills (persistence) until pre-school age using data from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk. Mother-child interaction is measured by a ten minute video of a...

This paper analyses in a novel way how educational investments can improve human capital formation in Europe, based on a model of age-dependent skill formation featuring dynamic complementarities. Counterfactual investment policies are evaluated with an Atkinson-Sen welfare function. Investments...

The question of whether alcohol and tobacco are consumed as complements or substitutes is crucial for determining the side-effects of anti-smoking policies. Numerous papers have empirically addressed this issue by estimating demand systems for alcohol and tobacco, and subsequently calculating...

Based on multivariate linear regression models, we analyze the effect of the lunar cycle and the number of sunspots occurring on a particular day on the number of births using social security data and controlling for a number of other potential confounders. The daily numbers of births between...

This paper investigates the development of basic cognitive, motor, and noncognitive abilities from infancy to adolescence. We analyse the predictive power of these abilities, initial risk conditions, and home resources for children's achievement. Our data are taken from the Mannheim Study of...

In der vorliegenden Studie wird anhand von Daten einer prospektiven Längsschnittstudie (Mannheimer Risikokinderstudie) untersucht, welchen Beitrag die Qualität der Mutter-Kind-Interaktion (MKI) im Säuglingsalter zur Vorhersage kognitiver (IQ) und nichtkognitiver Fähigkeiten (Persistenz) bis...

This paper investigates the role of early life adversity and home resources in terms of competence formation and school achievement based on data from an epidemiological cohort study following 364 children from birth to adolescence. Results indicate that organic and psychosocial risks present in...

In der vorliegenden Studie wird anhand von Daten einer prospektiven Längsschnittstudie (Mannheimer Risikokinderstudie) untersucht, welchen Beitrag die Qualität der Mutter-Kind-Interaktion (MKI) im Säuglingsalter zur Vorhersage kognitiver (IQ) und nichtkognitiver Fähigkeiten (Persistenz) bis...