Studying Regional Development Dynamics and their Political Consequences

SOEP@UBi  is a scientific cooperation between the University of Bielefeld and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, DIW Berlin) funded by the Leibniz Association.

Living conditions in Germany today show evidence of increasing and rapidly changing regional disparities in structural, demographic and economic domains. These disparities often take the form of an adverse access to health care facilities, childcare provision, education and other public services as well as regional labour market opportunities, business climate, housing and transportation infrastructures. The Leibniz-ScienceCampus researchers investigate how these regional social and economic opportunities influence social cohesion, expectations, political attitudes, preferences and behavior and thereby exacerbate or mitigate social inequality, social cohesion, political conflicts and radicalization.