Table 3 Variable list and definitions

Reservation Wages hourly (non-employed)

log Reservation Wages per Hour in Euro. (Reservation Wages monthly/(4.25* Preferred weekly Working Hours))

2.028 (0.438)

Reservation Wages monthly (non-employed)

log Reservation Wages per Month in Euro

6.895 (0.532)

Entry Wages hourly (employed)

log Entry Wages per Hour (only tenure less one Year). (Wages monthly/(4.25*Actual weekly Working Hours)

1.884 (0.503)

Entry Wages monthly (employed)

log Entry Wages per Month (only tenure less one Year)

6.748 (0.771)

Preferred Working Hours (non-employed)

Preferred Number of weekly Working Hours (non-employed)

33.425 (11.415)

Preferred Working Hours (employed)

Preferred Number of weekly Working Hours (employed)

34.035 (11.261)

Actual Working Hours (employed)

Real Number of weekly Working Hours (employed)

35.014 (14.854)

Leisure Satisfaction

Satisfaction with Leisure: Scale 0 to 10 (0:low, 10:high)

6.654 (2.239)

Job Satisfaction (employed)

Satisfaction with Job: scale 0 to 10 (0:low, 10:high)

6.592 (2.602)

Age: 18–25 Years

Dummy for Age: 18–25 Years (Reference)

Age: 26–35 Years

Dummy for Age: 26–35 Years

0.282 (0.450)

Age: 36–45 Years

Dummy for Age: 36–45 Years

0.256 (0.436)

Age: 46–55 Years

Dummy for Age: 46–55 Years

0.176 (0.381)

Age: 56–65 Years

Dummy for Age: 56–65 Years

0.064 (0.244)

Female

Dummy for being female

0.562 (0.496)

Children

Dummy for having Children under Age of 16 in Household

0.437 (0.496)

Secondary School

Dummy for having a Secondary School Degree (“Unterstufe”) (Reference)

Intermediate School

Dummy for having an Intermediate School Degree (“Mittelstufe”)

0.353 (0.478)

Upper School

Dummy for having an Upper School Degree (“Oberstufe”)

0.274 (0.446)

Vocational Degree

Dummy for having a Vocational Degree

0.639 (0.480)

College Degree

Dummy for having a College Degree

0.159 (0.366)

Health: good

Dummy for State of Health: good (Reference)

Health: normal

Dummy for State of Health: normal

0.287 (0.453)

Health: bad

Dummy for State of Health: bad

0.131 (0.337)

Household Income

log adjusted Household Income in Euro

7.651 (0.631)

German

Dummy for having German Citizenship

0.927 (0.260)

Unemployment Rate

German Federal States’ unemployment Rate (Information per State and Month, for Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland information per Regional Directorate and Month)

11.399 (4.606)

Year 2008

Dummy for Year 2008

0.472 (0.499)

Overall Life Satisfaction

Overall Life Satisfaction: Scale 0 to 10 (0:low, 10:high)

6.626 (1.974)

State: Schleswig-Holstein

Dummy for Federal State: Schleswig-Holstein (“Schleswig-Holstein”) (Reference)

State: Hamburg

Dummy for Federal State: Hamburg (“Hamburg”)

0.015 (0.121)

State: Lower Saxony

Dummy for Federal State: Lower Saxony (“Niedersachsen”)

0.092 (0.290)

State: Bremen

Dummy for Federal State: Bremen (“Bremen”)

0.007 (0.084)

State: North Rhine-Westphalia

Dummy for Federal State: North Rhine-Westphalia (“Nordrhein-Westfalen”)

0.183 (0.387)

State: Hesse

Dummy for Federal State: Hesse (“Hessen”)

0.067 (0.251)

State: Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland

Dummy for Federal State: Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland (“Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland”)

0.048 (0.215)

State: Baden-Wuerttemberg

Dummy for Federal State: Baden-Wuerttemberg (“Baden-Württemberg”)

0.083 (0.275)

State: Bavaria

Dummy for Federal State: Bavaria (“Bayern”)

0.130 (0.336)

State: Berlin

Dummy for Federal State: Berlin (“Berlin”)

0.047 (0.211)

State: Saxony

Dummy for Federal State: Saxony (“Sachsen”)

0.098 (0.297)

State: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Dummy for Federal State: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (“Mecklenburg-Vorpommern”)

0.033 (0.177)

State: Brandenburg

Dummy for Federal State: Brandenburg (“Brandenburg”)

0.062 (0.241)

State: Saxony-Anhalt

Dummy for Federal State: Saxony-Anhalt (“Sachsen-Anhalt”)

0.047 (0.212)

State: Thuringia

Dummy for Federal State: Thuringia (“Thüringen”)

0.056 (0.230)