We analyse the effect of a mandatory kindergarten for four-year-old children on mothers' labour supply in Switzerland. Since education policy is regulated on a federal level, we exploit spatial variation as well as staggered implementation. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find an...

We evaluate nowcasts and one- to four-quarter-ahead forecasts of Swiss full time equivalent jobs from 1998–2011, comparing forecasts of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute and of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs with the outcome of the reference series. Both forecasts are biased...

Tackling mental ill-health of the working-age population is becoming a key issue for labour market and social policies in OECD countries. OECD governments increasingly recognise that policy has a major role to play in keeping people with mental ill-health in employment or bringing those outside...

Finding a suitable work/family balance is a challenge that all parents face. Many parents and children in New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland are happy with their existing arrangements. However, many others feel seriously constrained in one way or another, and their personal well-being suffers...