Dr. Maximilian Stockhausen

Academization, immigration and demographic change are defining issues of our time and influence the distribution of income. This year's report therefore focuses on the question of which long-term structural changes in the net income distribution are associated with a higher average level of education, increased net immigration and a higher share of older fellow citizens in the total population.

Maximilian Stockhausen IW

In 2018, roughly every second German was a member of the middle class as measured by income, a proportion which has barely changed for more than a decade. However, the lower income threshold of this middle-income group has risen - an indication of increased prosperity.

Judith Niehues / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

Are children better off than their parents? This highly debated question in politics and economics is investigated by analysing the trends in absolute and relative intergenerational labour income mobility for Germany and the US.

Maximilian Stockhausen in Journal of Economic Inequality IW

The principle behind Germany’s statutory health insurance (SHI) system, into which all employees up to a certain income threshold are obliged to pay a per¬centage of their earnings, is one of solidarity.

Martin Beznoska / Jochen Pimpertz / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

This report summarizes the latest findings on the development and levels of global income and wealth inequality and puts special emphasize on the situation in Germany.

Judith Niehues / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

German society is ageing and the need for nursing care is increasing. In 2017, just under 5 million people claimed to be providing nursing care in a private setting. An analysis of the data from the Socio-Economic Panel provides a heterogeneous picture of how the home care burden is shared.

Susanna Kochskämper / Silvia Neumeister / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

The corona pandemic has had a decisive impact on the year 2020 and, at least in recent times, has had an unprecedented (negative) impact on society and the economy. At the core of this simulation study is therefore the question of how the corona pandemic has affected income levels and social inequality in Germany, and to what extent automatic stabilizers of the social security system and additional financial aid measures have been able to cushion distortions caused by the crisis.

Martin Beznoska / Judith Niehues / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

Distributional analyses often focus on either income or wealth. However, a comprehensive picture of the material well-being of a nation’s households can only be obtained by considering both variables together.

Mariano Calderón / Judith Niehues / Maximilian Stockhausen IW

The sharp rise in rents and housing prices in the 2010s, particularly in the major conurbations, has led some to assert that housing is “the social question of our time”.

Pekka Sagner / Maximilian Stockhausen / Michael Voigtländer IW

How are income and wealth distributed in Germany? There is often no simple answer to this seemingly simple question, sometimes not even a clear one. Various social and structural changes have very different effects on the distribution of income and wealth: an ageing population, a tendency to live alone or an increasing share of the population with migration background along with economic changes amidst a deepening globalization and digitalization.

Maximilian Stockhausen / Mariano Calderón IW