Fabian Kratz
Biographic Data
| ID | 229485 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fabian Kratz |
| GIVEN NAMES | Fabian |
| FAMILY NAME | Kratz |
| SIGNATURE | KRATZ F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1702-5728 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 54 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Can equalizing education weaken the link between parental education and cognitive function? Evidence from a non-parametric decomposition analysis
Cognitive function is a key determinant of quality of life, making the maintenance of cognitive health a public health priority. Because individuals with both low parental and individual education exhibit lower cognitive function, it is essential to identify levers that can reduce such inequalities. This study is the first to examine how interventions targeting educational attainment may alter the relationship between parental education and adult…
Directions for improving the policy relevance of inequality research
Rising Educational Divides in Attitudes
The question of whether attitudes become more polarized over time has stimulated significant scientific and political debate. This study is the first to show that polarization processes can occur both across cohorts and with rising age and that cohort-based polarization may obscure age-related polarization. I introduce the age polarization and cohort polarization hypotheses, which propose that attitudes become increasingly polarized both as indiv…
Assessing age trajectories (of subjective well-being)
Assessments of age trajectories are crucial for various strands of sociological research. This study provides guidance on how to estimate age trajectories by discussing a research design to answer the question, 'How does aging affect subjective well-being?' We define the estimand, discuss key identification and estimation assumptions, and propose-informed by this discussion-a research design. By contrasting our design with those of previous studi…
Socialism and the Modernization Hypothesis
In Europe, people from post-Soviet countries tend to hold more negative attitudes toward immigration than people from Western societies. This pattern is also evident in the former East and West Germany. In line with the modernization hypothesis, previous research shows that worldviews have become more liberal across generations in Western societies over the last century. This study examines whether such processes of liberalization have taken plac…
A liberalizing effect of happiness? The impact of improvements and deteriorations in different dimensions of subjective well-being on concerns about immigration
High levels of concerns about immigration pose a threat to the successful integration of immigrants and may even destabilize heterogeneous societies. This study assesses the mechanisms underlying the association between subjective well-being and concerns about immigration. The analyses rely on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1999-2017), a long-running data set that follows individuals over time with a total of 60,319 respondents and 329,55…
At Which Age is Education the Great Equalizer? A Causal Mediation Analysis of the (In-)Direct Effects of Social Origin over the Life Course
The mechanisms linking parental resources to their children's opportunities are of fundamental interest to sociologists. This study is the first to provide a dynamic life course assessment of the origin-education-destination triangle using causal mediation analysis. While the age-as-equalizer hypothesis suggests that for the highly educated, direct effects of social origin are high at young ages and decrease over the life course, the age-as-strat…
Do Concerns about Immigration Change after Adolescence? How Education and Critical Life Events Affect Concerns about Immigration
This study investigates whether critical life events that typically occur during early adulthood (i.e., labor market entry, unemployment, parenthood) impact concerns about immigration. Two mechanisms suggest that these critical life events lead to a widening of education-specific differences: First, the amplification of ethnic competition following critical life events may be more pronounced for individuals with low educational attainment. Second…
Endogenous Selection Bias and Cumulative Inequality over the Life Course
According to theories of cumulative (dis-)advantage, inequality increases over the life course. Labour market research has seized this argument to explain the increasing economic inequality as people age. However, evidence for cumulative (dis-)advantage in subjective well-being remains ambiguous, and a prominent study from the United States has reported contradictory results. Here, we reconcile research on inequality in subjective well-being with…
Vocational Education and Employment
A stylized finding on returns to vocational education is that vocational compared to general education generates a differential life course pattern of employability: while vocational education guarantees smooth transitions into the labour market and thus generates initial advantages, these erode with increasing age, leading to late-life reversals in employment chances. We contribute to this research by assessing cohort variations in life-cycle pa…
On the way from misery to happiness? A longitudinal perspective on economic migration and well-being
The assessment of returns from migration lies at the very heart of migration research. While a growing body of literature examines the links between migration and well-being, dynamic relationships require further elaboration. Using the longest running, nationally representative panel study with information on well-being, the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2016) this article addresses two essential, as yet unresolved, questions: How does the fa…
Which mechanisms explain monetary returns to international student mobility
The authors develop a conceptual framework explaining monetary returns to international student mobility (ISM). Based on data from two German graduate panel surveys, they test this framework using growth curve models and Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions. The results indicate that ISM-experienced graduates enjoy a steeper wage growth after graduation and that they receive higher medium-term wages. This is partly attributable to their favourable self-…
Motherhood, Employment, and Life Satisfaction
ObjectiveThis article analyzes trends in the relationships among motherhood, employment, and life satisfaction in Germany and regresses them on changing motherhood norms.BackgroundMotherhood norms have changed in recent decades in Germany, and differences in labor force participation between mothers and women without children have decreased. We research whether differences in life satisfaction have decreased at the same time.MethodAnalyses are ba…
Der Einfluss der sozialen Herkunft auf die internationale Mobilität und den Stellensuchradius von Studierenden und Hochschulabsolventen
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 45 - 64
Which mechanisms explain monetary returns to international student mobility
The authors develop a conceptual framework explaining monetary returns to international student mobility (ISM). Based on data from two German graduate panel surveys, they test this framework using growth curve models and Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions. The results indicate that ISM-experienced graduates enjoy a steeper wage growth after graduation and that they receive higher medium-term wages. This is partly attributable to their favourable self-…
Endogenous Selection Bias and Cumulative Inequality over the Life Course
According to theories of cumulative (dis-)advantage, inequality increases over the life course. Labour market research has seized this argument to explain the increasing economic inequality as people age. However, evidence for cumulative (dis-)advantage in subjective well-being remains ambiguous, and a prominent study from the United States has reported contradictory results. Here, we reconcile research on inequality in subjective well-being with…
Do Concerns about Immigration Change after Adolescence? How Education and Critical Life Events Affect Concerns about Immigration
This study investigates whether critical life events that typically occur during early adulthood (i.e., labor market entry, unemployment, parenthood) impact concerns about immigration. Two mechanisms suggest that these critical life events lead to a widening of education-specific differences: First, the amplification of ethnic competition following critical life events may be more pronounced for individuals with low educational attainment. Second…
On the way from misery to happiness? A longitudinal perspective on economic migration and well-being
The assessment of returns from migration lies at the very heart of migration research. While a growing body of literature examines the links between migration and well-being, dynamic relationships require further elaboration. Using the longest running, nationally representative panel study with information on well-being, the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2016) this article addresses two essential, as yet unresolved, questions: How does the fa…
Der Einfluss der sozialen Herkunft auf die internationale Mobilität und den Stellensuchradius von Studierenden und Hochschulabsolventen
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 45 - 64
At Which Age is Education the Great Equalizer? A Causal Mediation Analysis of the (In-)Direct Effects of Social Origin over the Life Course
The mechanisms linking parental resources to their children's opportunities are of fundamental interest to sociologists. This study is the first to provide a dynamic life course assessment of the origin-education-destination triangle using causal mediation analysis. While the age-as-equalizer hypothesis suggests that for the highly educated, direct effects of social origin are high at young ages and decrease over the life course, the age-as-strat…
Vocational Education and Employment
A stylized finding on returns to vocational education is that vocational compared to general education generates a differential life course pattern of employability: while vocational education guarantees smooth transitions into the labour market and thus generates initial advantages, these erode with increasing age, leading to late-life reversals in employment chances. We contribute to this research by assessing cohort variations in life-cycle pa…
Motherhood, Employment, and Life Satisfaction
ObjectiveThis article analyzes trends in the relationships among motherhood, employment, and life satisfaction in Germany and regresses them on changing motherhood norms.BackgroundMotherhood norms have changed in recent decades in Germany, and differences in labor force participation between mothers and women without children have decreased. We research whether differences in life satisfaction have decreased at the same time.MethodAnalyses are ba…
A liberalizing effect of happiness? The impact of improvements and deteriorations in different dimensions of subjective well-being on concerns about immigration
High levels of concerns about immigration pose a threat to the successful integration of immigrants and may even destabilize heterogeneous societies. This study assesses the mechanisms underlying the association between subjective well-being and concerns about immigration. The analyses rely on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1999-2017), a long-running data set that follows individuals over time with a total of 60,319 respondents and 329,55…
Socialism and the Modernization Hypothesis
In Europe, people from post-Soviet countries tend to hold more negative attitudes toward immigration than people from Western societies. This pattern is also evident in the former East and West Germany. In line with the modernization hypothesis, previous research shows that worldviews have become more liberal across generations in Western societies over the last century. This study examines whether such processes of liberalization have taken plac…
Der Einfluss der sozialen Herkunft auf die internationale Mobilität und den Stellensuchradius von Studierenden und Hochschulabsolventen
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 45 - 64
On the way from misery to happiness? A longitudinal perspective on economic migration and well-being
The assessment of returns from migration lies at the very heart of migration research. While a growing body of literature examines the links between migration and well-being, dynamic relationships require further elaboration. Using the longest running, nationally representative panel study with information on well-being, the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2016) this article addresses two essential, as yet unresolved, questions: How does the fa…
Which mechanisms explain monetary returns to international student mobility
The authors develop a conceptual framework explaining monetary returns to international student mobility (ISM). Based on data from two German graduate panel surveys, they test this framework using growth curve models and Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions. The results indicate that ISM-experienced graduates enjoy a steeper wage growth after graduation and that they receive higher medium-term wages. This is partly attributable to their favourable self-…
Motherhood, Employment, and Life Satisfaction
ObjectiveThis article analyzes trends in the relationships among motherhood, employment, and life satisfaction in Germany and regresses them on changing motherhood norms.BackgroundMotherhood norms have changed in recent decades in Germany, and differences in labor force participation between mothers and women without children have decreased. We research whether differences in life satisfaction have decreased at the same time.MethodAnalyses are ba…
Vocational Education and Employment
A stylized finding on returns to vocational education is that vocational compared to general education generates a differential life course pattern of employability: while vocational education guarantees smooth transitions into the labour market and thus generates initial advantages, these erode with increasing age, leading to late-life reversals in employment chances. We contribute to this research by assessing cohort variations in life-cycle pa…
Endogenous Selection Bias and Cumulative Inequality over the Life Course
According to theories of cumulative (dis-)advantage, inequality increases over the life course. Labour market research has seized this argument to explain the increasing economic inequality as people age. However, evidence for cumulative (dis-)advantage in subjective well-being remains ambiguous, and a prominent study from the United States has reported contradictory results. Here, we reconcile research on inequality in subjective well-being with…
Do Concerns about Immigration Change after Adolescence? How Education and Critical Life Events Affect Concerns about Immigration
This study investigates whether critical life events that typically occur during early adulthood (i.e., labor market entry, unemployment, parenthood) impact concerns about immigration. Two mechanisms suggest that these critical life events lead to a widening of education-specific differences: First, the amplification of ethnic competition following critical life events may be more pronounced for individuals with low educational attainment. Second…
At Which Age is Education the Great Equalizer? A Causal Mediation Analysis of the (In-)Direct Effects of Social Origin over the Life Course
The mechanisms linking parental resources to their children's opportunities are of fundamental interest to sociologists. This study is the first to provide a dynamic life course assessment of the origin-education-destination triangle using causal mediation analysis. While the age-as-equalizer hypothesis suggests that for the highly educated, direct effects of social origin are high at young ages and decrease over the life course, the age-as-strat…
Socialism and the Modernization Hypothesis
In Europe, people from post-Soviet countries tend to hold more negative attitudes toward immigration than people from Western societies. This pattern is also evident in the former East and West Germany. In line with the modernization hypothesis, previous research shows that worldviews have become more liberal across generations in Western societies over the last century. This study examines whether such processes of liberalization have taken plac…
A liberalizing effect of happiness? The impact of improvements and deteriorations in different dimensions of subjective well-being on concerns about immigration
High levels of concerns about immigration pose a threat to the successful integration of immigrants and may even destabilize heterogeneous societies. This study assesses the mechanisms underlying the association between subjective well-being and concerns about immigration. The analyses rely on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1999-2017), a long-running data set that follows individuals over time with a total of 60,319 respondents and 329,55…
Rising Educational Divides in Attitudes
The question of whether attitudes become more polarized over time has stimulated significant scientific and political debate. This study is the first to show that polarization processes can occur both across cohorts and with rising age and that cohort-based polarization may obscure age-related polarization. I introduce the age polarization and cohort polarization hypotheses, which propose that attitudes become increasingly polarized both as indiv…
Assessing age trajectories (of subjective well-being)
Assessments of age trajectories are crucial for various strands of sociological research. This study provides guidance on how to estimate age trajectories by discussing a research design to answer the question, 'How does aging affect subjective well-being?' We define the estimand, discuss key identification and estimation assumptions, and propose-informed by this discussion-a research design. By contrasting our design with those of previous studi…
Can equalizing education weaken the link between parental education and cognitive function? Evidence from a non-parametric decomposition analysis
Cognitive function is a key determinant of quality of life, making the maintenance of cognitive health a public health priority. Because individuals with both low parental and individual education exhibit lower cognitive function, it is essential to identify levers that can reduce such inequalities. This study is the first to examine how interventions targeting educational attainment may alter the relationship between parental education and adult…
Directions for improving the policy relevance of inequality research
Economics (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Demographic economics (7 works) · German (7 works) · Geography (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Econometrics (4 works) · Economic growth (4 works) · Life course approach (4 works)