• How do socio-economic status, historical conditions and events in the early life course affect later life chances and outcomes?

• How much inter- and intra-generational mobility can we observe in East and West Germany? What are the most important individual-level and contextual factors that determine who gets ahead? Do they change over time?

• Are there changes over time in the timing, variability, coupling, and sequencing of major life course transitions, such as leaving home, finishing school, starting to work, and starting a family?

• To what extent do economic, social, and cultural forces explain changes in these patterns?

• How do particular historical conditions and institutional settings impact on the life course? For example, did East Germans experience different life courses than West Germans? Why? What changed after unification?

• How do changes in individual behavior impact on institutional settings and modify the social structure?