Economic Policy in Switzerland

293 Pages·1997·26.586 MB·English

by  Philippe Bacchetta, Walter Wasserfallen (eds.)

ECONOMIC POLICY IN SWITZERLAND
Economic Policy in
Switzerland
Edited by
Philippe Bacchetta
and
Walter Wasserfallen
First published in Great Britain 1997 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-25877-2 ISBN 978-1-349-25875-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-25875-8
First published in the United States of America 1997 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
IIISSSBBBNNN 999777888---000---333111222---111777666111999---888
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Economic policy in Switzerland 1 edited by Philippe Bacchetta and
Walter Wasserfallen.
p. cm.
Includes bibli02raphical references and index.
IISSBBNN 997788--00--331122--1177661199--88
I. Switzerland-Economic policy. 2. Switzerland-Economic
conditions-1945- I. Bacchetta, Philippe. II. Wasserfallen,
Walter.
HC396.E36 1997
338.9494--dc21 97-8644
CIP
Selection and editorial matter @ Philippe Bacchetta and Walter Wasserfallen 1997
Chapter I @ Philippe Bacchetta and Walter Wasserfallen 1997
Chapters 2-10 @ Macmillan Press Ltd 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
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written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97
Contents
List of Tables and Figures vii
Notes on the Contributors ix
1 Introduction
Philippe Bacchetta and Walter Wasser/allen 1
2 Recent Developments in Swiss Monetary Policy
Hans Genberg and Ulrich Kohli 8
Comment Georg Rich 30
3 Swiss Competition Policy in the Last Decade
Damien Neven and Thomas von Ungern-Sternberg 35
Comment Winand Emons 58
Comment Pierre Tercier 60
4 Unemployment and Unemployment Insurance in
Switzerland
George Sheldon 62
Comment Serge Gaillard 93
Comment Stefan C. Wolter 96
5 Discrimination in the Labor Market: A Gender
Perspective
Renate Schubert 98
Comment Henriette EngeJhardt ll8
Comment Yves FJiickiger 121
6 Poverty and Social Policy: An Overview
Robert E. Leu, Stefan Burri and Peter Aregger 123
Comment Hans Schmid 148
Comment Ludwig Gartner 150
v
vi Contents
7 Swiss Health Policy
Peter Zweifel 152
Comment Jean-Christian Lambelet 180
Comment Thomas Zeltner 182
8 Environmental Policy in Switzerland: Methods, Results,
Problems and Challenges
Gebhard Kirchgiissner 184
Comment Georg Miiller-Fiirstenberger 213
9 Housing Policy towards Ownership in Switzerland
Philippe Thalmann 214
Comment Henner Kleinewefers 243
Comment Rudolf H. Strahm 245
10 Deregulation and Privatisation: Evidence from the
Telecommunications Industry in Europe and
Implications for Switzerland
Walter Wasseifallen and Stefan Muller 249
Comment Rajna Gibson 271
Comment Jiirg Bucher 274
Index 277
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
2.1 Inflation rates in DECD countries, 1973-94 14
4.1 Absorption of employment declines during recessions,
1974-76 and 1991-93 63
4.2 VI outlays on the unemployed, 1990-94 74
4.3 Regression results for continuation rates 80
4.4 Regression results for various components of
unemployment 82
4.5 Impact of entitlement extensions on paid-out VI
benefit payments, 1994 84
4.6 Effects of a I-year cyclical upswing, a I-year trend
and VI changes on various dimensions of unemployment 85
6.1 Aggregate poverty and poverty intensity in
Switzerland, 1992 (poverty line SFr. 11 760 per year) 134
6.2 Aggregate poverty and poverty intensity in
Switzerland, 1992 (poverty line SFr. 15 420 per year) 136
6.3 Consumer durables, by resource category 139
6.4 Living conditions, by resource category 140
6.5 Main federal social security programs in
Switzerland, 1992 142
6.6 Cantonal and communal social security programs, 1992 144
7.1 Key data for the Swiss health care sector, 1970-90 153
7.2 Structure of public health care expenditure (HCE) in
Switzerland, 1970-90 170
8.1 Final use of fossil fuels, by different groups of
consumers, 1950-94 190
8.2 Tax rates and relative price increases of the CD tax 193
2
9.1 The size of the owner-occupied housing sector in
DECD countries 215
9.2 The size of the owner-occupied housing sector in
Switzerland, 1950-90 215
9.3 The share of residential construction in GDP in DECD
countries, 1990 221
10.1 Telecommunication services in European countries,
1994 and 1995 252
vii
viii List of Tables and Figures
10.2 British Telecom, before and after privatisation, 1981-95 258
10.3 Comparison across countries: accounting ratios, 1994 261
10.4 Comparison across countries: telephone tariffs, May 1995 263
10.5 Stock market performance, 1985-95 265
Figures
2.1 Growth rates of monetary aggregates, 1973-95 10
2.2 CPI inflation rates, 1973QI-1995Ql 11
2.3 Nominal exchange rates, 1973QI-1995Ql 11
2.4 Actual values of MO and the pre-announced
medium-term target paths, 1984-99 18
4.1 Unemployment and maximum length of UI
entitlement, 1971-96 64
4.2 Matrix of transition probabilities 67
4.3 Escape rates from unemployment 75
7.1 A systems analysis of health care 155
7.2 A simple model of the hospital 166
Notes on the Contributors
Peter Aregger, Research Assistant in Economics, UniversiUit Bern.
Philippe Bacchetta, Deputy Director, Studienzentrum Gerzensee, Professor
of Economics, Universite de Lausanne, and Research Fellow, CEPR.
Jiirg Bucher, Head of Marketing, Swiss Postal Office, Bern.
Stefan Burri, Research Assistant in Economics, UniversiUit Bern.
Winand Emons, Professor of Economics, UniversiUit Bern and Re
search Fellow, CEPR.
Henriette Engelhardt, Research Assistant in Sociology, Universitat
Bern.
Yves Fliickiger, Professor of Economics, Universite de Geneve.
Serge Gaillard, General Secretary, Swiss Labor Union.
Ludwig Gartner, Head of Social Policy and Research Department,
Federal Social Insurance Office, Berne.
Hans Genberg, Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute of Inter
national Studies Geneva.
Rajna Gibson, Professor of Finance, Universite de Lausanne.
Gebhard Kirchgiissner, Professor of Economics, Universitat St. Gallen.
Henner Kleinewefers, Professor of Economics, Universite de Fribourg.
Ulrich Kohli, Professor of Economics, Universite de Geneve.
Jean-Christian Lambelet, Professor of Economics, Universite de
Lausanne.
Robert E. Leu, Professor of Economics, Universitat Bern.
Stefan Miiller, Research Assistant in Economics, Universitat Bern.
Georg Miiller-Fiirstenberger, Research Assistant in Economics,
Universitat Bern.
Damien Neven, Professor of Economics, Universite de Lausanne, and
Research Fellow, CEPR.
ix
x Notes on the Contributors
Georg Rich, Chief Economist, Swiss National Bank, Zurich.
Hans Schmid, Professor of Economics, UniversiUit St. Gallen
Renate Schubert, Professor of Economics, Eidgenossische Technische
Hochschule Zurich.
George Sheldon, Professor of Economics, Universitat Basel.
Rudolf H. Strahm, President, Swiss Tenants' Association, Zurich.
Pierre Tercier, President, Swiss Competition Commission, Berne, and
Professor of Law, Universite de Fribourg.
Philippe Thalmann, Professor of Construction Economics, Ecole
Poly technique Federale de Lausanne.
Thomas von Ungern-Sternberg, Professor of Economics, Universite
de Lausanne.
Walter Wasserfallen, Director, Studienzentrum Gerzensee, Professor
of Finance, Universitat Bern, and Research Fellow, CEPR.
Stefan C. Wolter, Head of the Service for Economic Affairs, Swiss
Federal Office for Industry and Labor, Berne.
Thomas Zeltner, Director, Federal Office of Health Care, Berne.
Peter Zweifel, Professor of Economics, Universitat Zurich.