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Worries across Time and Age in Germany: Bringing Together Open- and Close-Ended Questions

Author

Listed:
  • Rohrer, Julia

    (University of Leipzig)

  • Bruemmer, Martin

    (University of Leipzig)

  • Schupp, Jürgen

    (DIW Berlin)

  • Wagner, Gert G.

    (Max Planck Institute for Human Development)

Abstract

We investigate how worries in Germany change across time and age, drawing on both closed-ended questions (which typically list a number of worry items) and open-ended questions answered in text format. We find that relevant world events influence worries. For example, worries about peace peaked in 2003, the year of the Iraq War, with a considerable number of respondents also referring to the Iraq war in their text responses. Furthermore, we found that - controlling for these historical effects - worries about various topics such as health and the general economic situation increase with age. With increasing age, respondents also became more likely to answer the open-ended question. This suggests that the age increases in worries we found are not merely a result of an age-biased choice of worry items, but instead also hold for worries self-generated by the respondents.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohrer, Julia & Bruemmer, Martin & Schupp, Jürgen & Wagner, Gert G., 2017. "Worries across Time and Age in Germany: Bringing Together Open- and Close-Ended Questions," IZA Discussion Papers 10861, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10861
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    worries; German Socio-Economic Panel Study; SOEP; life course; satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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