"We evaluate the effect of the size of deductibles in the basic health insurance in Switzerland on the probability of a doctor visit. We employ nonparametric bounding techniques to minimise statistical assumptions. In order to tighten the bounds we consider three further assumptions: mean...

We evaluate the effect of the size of deductibles in the basic health insurance in Switzerland on the probability of a doctor visit. We employ nonparametric bounding techniques to minimise statistical assumptions. In order to tighten the bounds we consider three further assumptions: mean...

We study the impact of financial incentives on the prescription behavior of physicians based on a natural experiment that resulted from a recent reform in two large Swiss cities. The reform opened up an additional income channel for physician by allowing them to earn a markup on drugs they...

"The aim of this microeconometric study is to estimate the effects of the Swiss employment and training measures on the individual employment probabilities of potential participants on the basis of administrative data from the unemployment insurance and the pension insurance. A large number of...

According to the classical human capital theory general training is entirely financed by workers. This prediction is at odds with the empirical evidence. This observation inspired new theoretical models of training in frictional labour market. These frictions create incentives for firms to...

Work-related training is considered to be very important for providing the workforce with the necessary skills for maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the firms and the economy. On the individual level, the primary effect of training should be an increased productivity of the...

In the second part of the 1990?s Switzerland conducted an ambitious active labour market policy (ALMP) encompassing a wide variety of programmes. We evaluate the effects of these programmes on the individual employment probability of potential participants. Our econometric analysis uses...

Subsidised employment is an important tool of active labour market policies to improve the chances of the unemployed to find permanent employment. Using informative individual administrative data we investigate the effects of two different schemes of subsidised temporary employment implemented...

Income support for working low income families (the ?working poor?) is on top of the political agenda in Switzerland. The current social assistance system is considered inadequate to support working poor households. Labour unions propose the introduction of a general minimum wage, whereas the...