Bettina Sonnenberg 
Dependencies and Mechanisms of Unemployment and Social Involvement 
Findings from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP)

People’s involvement in social groups and networks constitutes a resource for societies and individuals. More specifically, involvement represents the basis upon which social integration takes place and provides access to material and non-material goods considered to be rewarding for individuals. Despite substantial research suggesting that unemployment triggers social exclusion and social isolation, evidence for the causal influence of unemployment on social involvement is limited. Past studies typically have relied on research methods that are unable to address causality. Using long-term panel data from Germany and panel estimation methods, Bettina Sonnenberg investigates the causal effects of unemployment on people’s social involvement. By taking into account selection confounds, she shows that findings from cross-sectional research are misleading and have advanced inaccurate conclusions regarding the social consequences of unemployment.

Table of Content

Social integration and social involvement from a societal and individual perspective.- Social involvement and labor market participation as individual value creation.- The effect of unemployment on social involvement: Main and heterogeneous effects.

About the author

Bettina Sonnenberg is a sociologist and was a Research Associate in the Department of Social Science at the University of Tübingen and at the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS).