D äge , Jascha; Ede , Tim
Resea ch Repo
SOEP-Co e 40 - Ac i i y biog aphy in he da ase s
"pbiospe" and "a kalen"
SOEP Su ey Pape s, No. 1535
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Ge man Ins i u e o Economic Resea ch (DIW Be lin)
Sugges ed Ci a ion: D äge , Jascha; Ede , Tim (2025) : SOEP-Co e 40 - Ac i i y biog aphy in
he da ase s "pbiospe" and "a kalen", SOEP Su ey Pape s, No. 1535, Deu sches Ins i u ü
Wi scha s o schung (DIW), Ge man Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), Be lin
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Jascha D äge and Tim Ede
Se ies D - Va iable Desc ip ions and Coding
SOEP-Co e 40 – Ac i i y Biog aphy
in he Da ase s "pbiospe" and
"a kalen"
1535
2025
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Jascha D äge and Tim Ede . 2025. SOEP-Co e 40 – Ac i i y Biog aphy in he Da ase s "pbiospe" and
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Moh ens . 58
10117 Be lin, Ge many
Con ac : soepp[email p o ec ed]
Ac i i y Biog aphy in he Da ase s “pbiospe” and “a kalen”
by Jascha D äge and Tim Ede
(based on ea lie wo k by Raine Pischne , Henning Lohmann, Ma co Giesselmann, Mila
S ane a, Paul Schmelze , and Maik Hamjedie s)
Pbiospe and a kalen encompass ac i i ies o e he li e cou se and dis inguish be ween spells
in educa ion, employmen ( ull- and pa - ime employmen as well as mino employmen and
egis e ed unemploymen ), e i emen , housekeeping, pa en al lea e and o he s (see Table 3
o an o e iew). Please no e ha hese spells do no cap u e ansi ions be ween educa ional
ins i u ions o jobs and employe s; spells e lec a con inuous s a us o ins ance in ull- ime
employmen ega dless o po en ial job changes. In he yea ly Indi idual Ques ionnai e, he
esponden s a e also asked o epo job changes be ween he p e ious and cu en yea s and
his in o ma ion can be added o a kalen using he pgen da a iles.1
The spell ile a kalen is collec ed om Indi idual Ques ionnai es as a calenda -ma ix o
mon hs o he p e ious yea and espec i e s a uses o 15 ca ego ies2 ( o example Ques ion
141 in 2023.3 The in o ma ion om each annual Indi idual Ques ionnai e is hen a ached o
he in o ma ion o p e ious su eys in he pkal Da a File. Then, Spells a e gene a ed o all
consecu i e mon hs wi h he same ca ego y epo ed. The gene a ed spell ile s a s wi h he
yea be o e he en ance in o he sample and ends wi h a esponden ’s las obse a ion.
The spell ile pbiospe is based on he in o ma ion on ac i i y s a us o e he li e cou se, which
is collec ed as a ma ix om e e y esponden answe ing he Biog aphy Ques ionnai e ( o
example Ques ion 202 in 2023). The obse a ions s a a he age o 15 and end a he cu en
age (up o age 65). In o ma ion on ac i i y s a us co e s only he pe iod up o he ime he
biog aphy is collec ed. To upda e he ongoing occupa ional ca ee in pbiospe, in o ma ion
om he yea ly Indi idual Ques ionnai e is also used by agg ega ing he eco ded spells om
a kalen in o yea ly alues.
Con en o he Da ase s
Table 1 con ains a lis o all he a iables in he da ase s. The a iables begin and end indica e
he beginning and he end o a spell. These a iables a e age en ies in pbiospe and mon h
en ies in a kalen s a ing wi h Janua y 1983 as he i s mon h. Pbiospe does also include
e e ence o calenda yea s, e.g. beginy and endy. The spelln is a se ial iden i ie o spells o
each ac i i y s a us o a gi en pe son. The a iable spell yp con ains in o ma ion on he ac i i y
1 To add his in o ma ion, i is necessa y o spli each spell a he ime poin o an in e iew. A e wa ds, epo s
o job changes can be me ged a each espec i e ime poin .
2 Fo mo e de ailed In o ma ion on he ca ego ies in he Biog aphy and Calenda Ques ionnai e can be ound in
Table 3
3 Fo pe sons who we e empo a ily una ailable o in e iewing, i is some imes possible o ill in he gaps in
hei occupa ional s a us. I hese pe sons ill ou he addi ional ques ionnai e o empo a y d opou s la e on,
we can use he in o ma ion collec ed he e (see iles $PLUECKE).
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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s a us du ing he spell, e.g., employed ull- ime o unemployed (Fo de ailed in o ma ion see
Table 5)
Bo h he Biog aphy and he Indi idual Ques ionnai e allow o mul iple ac i i y s a uses o a
gi en yea o mon h. No concep o main ac i i y is used. A common combina ion is, o
ins ance, “housewi e/-husband” and “wo king pa - ime”. The e a e se e al o he plausible
combina ions, bu also combina ions ha a e less plausible. Howe e , a lis o alid
combina ions o ac i i y s a uses de ined acco ding o legal o simila cons uc s would need
o be based on e y s ong assump ions. In addi ion—in case o he yea ly ma ix in he
Biog aphy Ques ionnai e—ac i i ies a e epo ed ha ook place in a calenda yea in
consecu i e mon hs, which makes i impossible o exclude combina ions o ac i i ies.
Table 1: All Va iables in he a kalen and pbiospe Da ase s; *These a iables lis all he Spells ha we e
combined in o his Spell. As hey a e gene a ed dynamically he numbe o a iables a ies.
Va iables
In o ma ion in:
pbiospe
a kalen
cid
O iginal Household Numbe
O iginal Household Numbe
pid
Ne e Changing Pe son ID
Ne e Changing Pe son ID
spelln
Se ial Numbe o he Spell pe Pe son
Se ial Numbe o he Spell pe
Pe son
spell yp
Type o Spell
Type o Spell
begin
Age Spell Begins
Mon h Spell Begins
end
Age Spell Ends
Mon h Spell End
beginy
Yea Spell Ends
endy
Yea Spell Ends
zenso
Censo Va iable
Censo Va iable
sou ce
O igina ing Da ase
o he _ lag
Flags spells gene a ed om open-
ended esponses o "o he " spells
duplica e_ lag
Flags copied spells
spellin
Spell Cons uc ion In o ma ion
e hebj
Su ey Yea Biog aphy Da a
kalyea
Fi s Obse a ion in Calenda Da a
beginbX*
Age Spell Begins, X h Ini ial Biog aphy
Spell
endbX*
Age Spell Ends, X h Ini ial Biog aphy Spell
beginybX*
Yea Spell Begins, X h Ini ial Biog aphy
Spell
endybX*
Yea Spell Ends, X h Ini ial Biog aphy
Spell
beginkX*
Age Spell Begins, X h Ini ial Calenda
Spell
endkX*
Age Spell Ends, X h Ini ial Calenda Spell
beginykX*
Yea Spell Begins, X h Ini ial Calenda
Spell
endykX*
Yea Spell Ends, X h Ini ial Calenda Spell
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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The e o e, no da a cleaning is pe o med a his s age. Consequen ly, he da a may con ain
in o ma ion on mo e han one ac i i y o a gi en poin in ime.
Di e en ia ion be ween App en iceship/Re aining and Minijob/Pa - ime spells in a kalen
Fo some ac i i ies, mo e de ailed in o ma ion was collec ed in la e su ey yea s.
Un il 1998, pa icipan s whe e asked whe he hey did any kind o oca ional aining (spell yp
== 4), which includes bo h Fi s Job T aining, App en iceship and Con inuing Educa ion,
Re aining. Since 1999, he e a e sepa a e ques ions on whe he pa icipan s did a Fi s Job
T aining o App en iceship (spell yp == 41) o whe he hey did Con inuing Educa ion o
Re aining (spell yp == 42). Thus, in o ma ion on he mo e de ailed ac i i y is only a ailable
since Janua y 1999 (mon h 193 since Janua y 1983). To enable con inui y, Spells wi h ype 41
and 42 Janua y 1999 a e copied as ype 4 Spells and expand he exis ing Spells i applicable.
The spells ha con ain copies o mo e de ailed spells a e ma ked by he a iable
duplica e_ lag.
Likewise, un il 2003, esponden s we e asked whe he hey a e pa - ime employed o
whe he hey did a ‘Mini job’, bu hese wo ac i i ies we e no di e en ia ed (spell yp == 3).
Since 2004, he e a e sepa a e ques ions on whe he pa icipan s we e pa - ime employed
(spell yp == 31) o whe he hey did a ‘Mini job’ (spell yp == 32). Thus, in o ma ion on he
mo e de ailed ac i i y is only a ailable since Janua y 2004 (mon h 252 since Janua y 1983).
Again, o enable con inui y, spells o ype 31 o 32 a e coped as ype 3 spells and expand he
exis ing spells i applicable.
Table 2 gi es and example o how his was done.
Be o e Duplica ion
cid
pid
spell yp
spelln
begin
end
zenso
sou ce
o he _ lag
duplica e_ lag
868
8605
4
3
165
193
1
1
0
0
868
8605
41
4
193
206
1
1
0
0
A e Duplica ion
cid
pid
spell yp
spelln
begin
end
zenso
sou ce
o he _ lag
duplica e_ lag
868
8605
4
3
165
206
1
1
0
1
868
8605
41
4
193
206
1
1
0
0
Table 2: P ocess o Spell duplica ion o con inui y
I you wan o e e his change in a kalen you simply need o se he end a iable o all
Spells wi h spell yp == 4 and duplica e_ lag == 1 o mon h 192 i hey exceed his mon h. Fo
Spells wi h spell yp == 3 and duplica e_ lag == 1 you need o se he end a iable o mon h
252 i hey exceed i .
Agg ega ion o ‘O he ’ Spells in o usable spell ypes
Open Field Response
Spell yp in a kalen
“Sho Wo k Hou s”
2: Sho Wo k Hou s
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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Table 3: Agg ega ion o Spell ypes om Open-Field Responses
The calenda Ques ionnai e also includes an open ield esponse op ion o he yea s om
1986 o 2020. Some esponses om his ield a e used o gene a e use ul Spell-In o ma ion.
Table 3 depic s which in o ma ion is used o which spell ypes. Spells ha a e c ea ed in his
way a e lagged using he a iable o he _ lag. The e a e 2923 Spells wi h agg ega ed ‘o he ’-
in o ma ion cu en ly in a kalen, his adds up o 0.6 pe cen o Spells.
Censo ing; Coding o he Va iable zenso
Righ :
Le :
No censo ed
Censo ed missing
Censo ed be o e gap
No censo ed
1
2
3
Censo ed missing
4
5
6
Censo ed a e gap
7
8
9
Table 4: O e iew o zenso -Va iable; No e: (99) Gap Spells a e ma ked wi h -2
Missing in o ma ion on he beginning o end o a spell causes wha is known as censo ing
p oblems. The e a e wo ypes o missing da a. Fi s , da a can be missing on pe iods ou side
he obse a ion window (be o e he age o 15 and a e he age o 65 in he case o pbiospe
o be o e and a e he panel pa icipa ion in a kalen). Second, da a can be missing on yea s
wi hin he obse a ion window due o i em non- esponse in pa icula yea s o due o
empo a y d op-ou s ( he la e applies o calenda in o ma ion only). In his case, we speak
o “gaps.” The e a e nine di e en pa e ns (see Table 4).
Agg ega ion o a kalen in o ma ion in o pbiospe
To enhance he da a o he Biog aphy In o ma ion a kalen da a is agg ega ed in o yea ly
alues. Spell yp in pbiospe is less g anula ed han he ypes in a kalen, so spell yp is
agg ega ed as depic ed in Table 5. The ca ego y 3 “mili a y / ci ilian se ice” deno es se e al
ac i i ies, such as being imp isoned, se ing in he mili a y, doing o me communi y se ice
o any olun a y se ice (FSJ o Bundes eiwilligendiens ). I you a e mo e in e es ed in
dis inguishing hese, i is necessa y o ace down he in o ma ion in he pe son da a $P (e.g.
a iable pkal09a in bhp) and o me ge hem on o a kalen o pbiospe.
The a kalen Spells a e i s con e ed in o he new spell ypes (Gaps a e d opped) and
ans o med o yea ly begin and end a iables4, be o e ex ending Spells i necessa y o achie e
4 No e ha his means ha also when only 1 mon h o ac i i y is epo ed in a kalen he whole yea will be
eco ded wi h he ac i i y in pbiospe. Also, i his happens in consecu i e yea s hose Spells a e expanded, so i
a pe son has 1 mon h Re aining (14) Spells in Ma ch 2000, 2001, and 2002 espec i ely, his pe son is eco ded
wi h a T aining (2) Spell in pbiospe ha begins in 2000 and ends in 2002.
“Ma e ni y Lea e”
7: Ma e ni y Lea e
“No Wo king”
5: Unemployed
“P e-Re i emen ”
6: Re i emen
“1-Eu o Job”
15: Minijob
“Social Aid”
5: Unemployed
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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a cong uen se o Spells. A ques ion ha a ises when me ging he da a is how o handle
o e lapping pieces o in o ma ion. The basic p inciple is o assign a alue o a gi en s a us in
a gi en yea i he s a us is eco ded in he calenda o in he biog aphy in o ma ion o bo h.
An example migh help o illus a e his: he calenda eco ds ull- ime employmen o he
yea s 2005 and 2007 while he biog aphy eco ds ull- ime employmen o he pe iod om
2000 up o 2006. The me ged da a om pbiospe con ains a spell ha begins in 2000 and ends
in 2007.
pbiospe
a kalen
1
School/Uni e si y
School, Uni e si y (8)
2
App en iceship/T aining
Voca ional T aining (4), Fi s Job T aining,
App en iceship (41), Con inuing Educa ion,
Re aining (42)
3
Mili a y/Ci ilian se ice
Mili a y, Communi y Se ice (FSJ, Bu Di,
Zi ildiens ) (9)
4
Full- ime employed
Full-Time Employmen (1)
5
Pa - ime employed
Pa -Time Employmen /ma ginal employmen
(3), Second Job (11), Pa -Time Employmen
(31), Mini-Job (up o 556€ (in 2025)) (32)
6
Unemployed
Unemployed (5)
7
House-Husband/Wi e
House-Husband/Wi e (10)
8
Re i ed
Re i ed (6)
9
O he
O he (12) Ma e ni y Lea e (7)
10
Sho Wo k Hou s
Sho Wo k Hou s (2)
99
Gap
Gap (99)
Table 5: Agg ega ion o Spell ypes om a kalen o pbiospe
Howe e , he ini ial in o ma ion is es o ed by including addi ional a iables, which allows o
al e na i e ways o me ging he da a (see below). The a iables spellin , e hebj, and kalyea
con ain gene al in o ma ion on he sou ces o he in o ma ion cap u ed in each spell. Table 6
shows ha he majo i y o spells a e based on biog aphy in o ma ion only (51.2 pe cen ). One-
hi d o all spells (33.03 pe cen ) a e no obse ed in he Biog aphy Ques ionnai e bu only in
he calenda da a. The emainde o spells con ain in o ma ion om biog aphy as well as
calenda da a. Usually, hese spells combine one pe iod obse ed in he Biog aphy
Ques ionnai e wi h a pe iod obse ed in he calenda . Only 0.5 pe cen o he spells combine
mo e han one pe iod in any o he wo sou ces (spellin =4, 5 o 6).
spellin N % % cum.
Biog aphy only 303486 51.20 51.20
Calenda only 195790 33.03 84.24
1 biog aphy, 1 calenda spell 90478 15.27 99.50
2+ biog aphy, 1 calenda spell(s) 734 0.12 99.62
1 biog aphy, 2+ calenda spell(s) 2143 0.36 99.99
2+ biog aphy, 2+ calenda spell(s) 84 0.01 100
Table 6: Cons uc ion o Spells in pbiospe
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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The a iables beginbx-endykx documen he ini ial in o ma ion om he wo di e en sou ces
and a e p obably no o in e es o mos use s. Howe e , based on hese a iables, use s can
ully sepa a e he Biog aphy da a om he agg ega ed a kalen da a. This is ad isable i you
wan o use he mo e de ailed a kalen in o ma ion and combine i wi h he yea ly
in o ma ion om pbiospe o ea lie yea s only. The a iable names indica e he “sou ce” o
he o iginal in o ma ion u ilized (B: Biog aphy -Ques ionnai e o K: calenda in o ma ion om
he yea ly su ey). As an example, we discuss one o he spells ha combines in o ma ion on
mo e han one pe iod om any o he wo sou ces. The spell numbe 3 o pe son 9205 s a s
in 1983 and ends in 1994 (spell yp=4: ull- ime employmen ). As he a iable spellin (=5)
shows, his a spell ha combines one pe iod om he biog aphy da a wi h wo pe iods om
he calenda da a. Acco ding o he biog aphy da a, he pe son wo ked ull- ime om 1983
(beginyb1) un il 1992 (endyb1). The e is o e lapping in o ma ion om he calenda da a
a ailable om 1986 onwa ds (kalyea ). Acco ding o hese da a, he pe son wo ked ull- ime
om 1986 (beginyk1) o 1990 (endyk1) and om 1993 (beginyk2) o 1994 (endyk2). Du ing
he yea s 1991 and 1992, no ull- ime employmen is eco ded in he calenda da a, which
con adic s he in o ma ion om he biog aphy da a.
pid spelln spell yp beginy endy spellin e hebj kalyea beginyb1 endyb1 beginyk1 endyk1 beginyk2 endyk2
9205 3 4 1983 1994 5 1998 1986 1983 1992 1986 1990 1993 1994
Table 7: Example Obse a ion in pbiospe
In pbiospe, no a emp is made o “ esol e” such con adic ions, as his would equi e a he
s ong assump ions. Mo e impo an , such assump ions would di e acco ding o he
esea ch ques ion, which makes i e en mo e di icul o p o ide a s anda d solu ion.
The e o e, in such cases, we gene a e spells in he same manne as in less di icul cases,
namely by combining he in o ma ion om he calenda and he biog aphy da a. In he gi en
example, his esul s in a ull- ime employmen spell ha s a s in 1983 and ends in 1994. As
men ioned abo e, he e a e e y ew spells ha combine in o ma ion on wo o mo e pe iods
(spellin =4, 5, 6, less han 0.5 pe cen o all spells). The e a e e en ewe such spells whe e he
pe iod o o e lap is as long as in his example, whe e he biog aphy da a was collec ed many
yea s a e he pe sons joined he su ey (e hebj=1998, kalyea =1986). Howe e , use s who
a e in e es ed in combining biog aphy and calenda da a in a di e en manne can use he
a iables beginbx-endykx o ully sepa a e he wo ypes o da a and o ecombine he da a
on he basis o di e en ules o agg ega ion.
O e lap be ween pbiospe and a kalen
As s a ed abo e, he calenda in o ma ion is used o upda e he biog aphy in o ma ion.
Howe e , he e is also a ce ain o e lap o he pe iods co e ed by he wo ypes o da a. This
is shown in Table 8 I indica es, o pe sons included in pbiospe, he yea in which he
biog aphy in o ma ion was collec ed ( a iable e hebj). This yea is usually also he las yea o
which biog aphy in o ma ion is a ailable. The able also shows he i s yea eco ded in he
calenda da a ( a iable kalyea ). In mos cases (53.8 pe cen ), he ea lies calenda
in o ma ion is a ailable o he yea be o e he biog aphy in e iew. This is he case o
SOEP Su ey Pape s 1535
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