Abstract:
This article statistically analyzes the moonlighting activities of members of the German Bundestag. In contrast to popular prejudices about "the political class," the data reveal that there are considerable differences among the 613 MPs regarding (i) the number and type of ancillary activities and (ii) the amount of outside income. Moreover a multiple regression analysis shows that the factors party affiliation, duration of parliamentary membership, age, and number of children contribute to the explanation of the observable differences. However, the empirical findings for MPs' outside income have to be viewed with skepticism as the official disclosure rules do not create full income transparency. Copyright 2009 die Autoren Journal compilation 2009, Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishing Ltd.