We identify the causal effect of lump-sum severance payments on non-employment duration in Norway by exploiting a discontinuity in eligibility at age 50. We find that a severance payment worth 1.2 months’ earnings at the median lowers the fraction re-employed after a year by seven percentage...

We identify the causal effect of lump-sum severance payments on nonemployment duration in Norway by exploiting a discontinuity in eligibility at age 50. We find that a severance payment worth 1.2 months’ earnings at the median lowers the fraction re-employed after a year by seven percentage...

While Switzerland's recent growth of employment was high in historical and international perspective, the reasons for this "job miracle" were not well understood. As the "miracle" was not anticipated by economic forecasters, it consequently resulted in systematic and persistent forecast errors....

This paper examines the linkages between real exchange rate movements and firms' skill demand. Real exchange rate movements may affect unskilled workers differently than skilled workers because of skill-specific adjustment costs, or because exchange rates lead to changes in relative factor...

In Switzerland a sudden policy uncertainty shock happened in February 2014 with the close and largely unexpected acceptance of a referendum aiming at limiting free movement of persons. The referendum requires Switzerland to reintroduce annual quotas for immigrants within three years. The...

Dieser Bericht beleuchtet, wie das Personenfreizügigkeitsabkommen (FZA) der Schweiz mit den EU/EFTA-Staaten das Einkommenswachstum in der Schweiz in den letzten Jahren beeinflusst hat. Der Bericht verfolgt das Ziel, Klarheit in die in der Öffentlichkeit teils widersprüchlich geführte Debatte...

Am 24. November 2013 stimmen die Schweizer Stimmbürgerinnen und Stimmbürger über die Volksinitiative "1:12 - Für gerechte Löhne" ab. Dieser Bericht leistet insbesondere empirische Grundlagenarbeit und analysiert die tatsächliche Lohnspanne in Schweizer Unternehmen mithilfe der Daten der...

Von der Öffentlichkeit weitgehend unbemerkt hat sich die Arbeitslosigkeit in der Schweiz trotz eines regelrechten Jobwunders in den letzten 20 Jahren erhöht. Es deutet Vieles darauf hin, dass es sich um einen Anstieg der strukturellen Arbeitslosigkeit handelt - also jener Arbeitslosigkeit,...

Does increased policy uncertainty dampen investment plans of firms? We provide direct evidence on this question by examining the effects of an unexpectedly accepted and farreaching referendum in Switzerland in February 2014. The vote has put several economically relevant agreements between...