Research

The German labor market is characterized by a high degree of occupational standardization. From an individual perspective, the acquisition of occupation-specific and standardized bundles of qualifications is linked to expectations of a financially secure and stable employment career. At the same time, the labor market is subject to continuous change in the occupational structure. The underlying processes are shaped not least by labor market institutions. From a sociological perspective, minimum wages, among other things, are conceptualized as important institutions in the labor market that influence the interplay between labor supply and demand. In my research on this topic, I am interested in the effects that the institution of the “minimum wage” has had on the occupational structure and individual occupational mobility.

Work and working conditions contribute significantly to social inequality in health. The negative health effects of stressful and disadvantageous working conditions have been documented in detail in the literature. However, whether there is a causal relationship between earnings and self-reported health or mental illness has not yet been clearly established. Accordingly, systematic literature reviews on the effects of changes in earnings on health have not been able to draw any clear conclusions. However, it is assumed that potential effects of income on health are not distributed linearly across income groups, but are stronger in low-income groups. For this reason, the research project will use the exogenous variation in the earnings of low-wage employees as a result of the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany to identify wage effects on health.