Open unemployment and joblessness in Switzerland are low compared to OECD standards. Yet a comparatively high proportion of working-age individuals remain weakly attached to the labour market, with unstable jobs, or with limited working hours. As an initial step towards a possible in-depth project, this Faces of Joblessness feasibility study provides insight into the nature and incidence of the structural barriers that are likely to prevent individuals from fully engaging in employment and speculates on their possible links with underutilized employment potential. It shows that lack of recent work experience and substantial non-labour or partner income are two key employment barriers in Switzerland. Partner income can be a barrier for women in particular and might be one of the reasons why many women leave stable employment at childbearing age, alongside low supply and high cost of early childhood education and care programs. Workers over 60 also represent a significant underutilized employment potential, as many have taken early retirement. Non-EU migrant are particularly exposed to potential labour market difficulties at younger age, and many of them have low levels of education, poor professional skills or limited work experience. This study also suggests that many jobless are confronted with complex and inter-related employment obstacles.
Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.
Understanding adults’ attitudes towards the environment is necessary to gauge the opportunities and challenges of creating effective and politically-feasible climate policies. Using data from the Wellcome Global Monitor 2020, the European Social Survey (Round 8), World Values Survey and EM-DAT, this paper examines how adults’ environmental attitudes vary within and across countries and details how environmental attitudes are associated with adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviours and support for environmentally-friendly policies. The paper explores whether the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment over the state of the economy or vice versa depends on individuals’ exposure to natural disasters or negative labour market conditions. Results indicate that people’s economic vulnerability and the sectors they work in impact their attitudes towards their environment and support for public policy. Furthermore, the findings suggest that increases in unemployment and exposure to natural disasters influence the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment.
The paper is the first in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The second paper is titled: ‘The environmental sustainability competence toolbox: From leaving a better planet to our children to leaving better children for our planet’.
Switzerland has a well-functioning labour market with low unemployment, a highly skilled workforce and well-paid jobs. It has proved resilient during the COVID-19 crisis, helped by extensive government support to employment and incomes. As activity recovers, the authorities face the challenge of adapting support measures to avoid hindering job reallocation and productivity growth while ensuring adequate support to vulnerable firms and workers. The pandemic has also reinforced certain pre-existing challenges. The already sizeable gender pay gap risks widening, and older workers face a higher risk of long-term unemployment. Making the labour market more inclusive would help the recovery and raise productivity. Switzerland would benefit from bringing under-represented groups more effectively into the labour market. Raising skills and lowering inequities in education and training will also be essential to facilitate job transitions and ensure that workers and firms benefit from technological change and the digital transformation.
This paper analyses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis across socio-economic groups in Switzerland and the role played by its short-time work scheme during the first year of the crisis until the end of 2020. To this end, it compares changes in hours worked for different socio-groups in Switzerland and other OECD countries, and then documents differences across groups in the use of short time work and in the risk of job loss. Finally, the paper investigates differences between groups of short-time work participants in terms of the reduction in working time, job search behavior and the risk of subsequent job loss. The evidence so far suggests that the Swiss short time work scheme as it operated during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis was fit for purpose.
The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on SME access to finance. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. The report documents an increase in demand for bank lending in the first half of 2020, and a steady supply of credit thanks to government interventions. On the other hand, other sources of finance declined, in particular early-stage equity.
This paper, a special edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on SME access to finance, along with government policy responses. It reveals that the pre-crisis financing environment was broadly favourable for SMEs and entrepreneurs, who benefited from low interest rates, loose credit standards and an increasingly diverse offer of financing instruments.
It documents the unprecedented scope and scale of the policy responses undertaken by governments world-wide, and details their key characteristics, and outlines the principal issues and policy challenges for the next phases of the pandemic, such as the over-indebtedness of SMEs and the need to continue to foster a diverse range of financing instruments for SMEs.
Ce rapport est une édition spéciale du Tableau de bord de l’OCDE sur le financement des PME et des entrepreneurs, publication phare de l’OCDE. Il examine en détail les conséquences du COVID-19 sur l’accès des PME au financement, ainsi que les mesures prises en conséquence par les pouvoirs publics. Il apparaît qu’avant la crise, les conditions de financement étaient globalement favorables pour les PME et les entrepreneurs, qui bénéficiaient de faibles taux d’intérêt, de critères accommodants d’octroi des crédits et d’une offre de plus en plus diversifiée d’instruments de financement. Mais la crise du COVID‑19 a profondément bouleversé l’accès des PME au financement. Plus particulièrement, l’effondrement brutal du chiffre d’affaires des entreprises a provoqué de graves pénuries de liquidités qui ont mis en danger la survie de bon nombre d’entreprises viables. Ce rapport fait état d’une augmentation de la demande de prêts bancaires au cours du premier semestre de 2020, et d’une stabilité de l’offre de crédit grâce à l’action des pouvoirs publics. Parallèlement, on a observé un recul d’autres sources de financement, en particulier l’apport de fonds propres au stade du démarrage. Le rapport réunit des données sur le périmètre et l’ampleur des mesures prises par les gouvernements dans le monde, et en précise les principales caractéristiques. Il décrit les principaux enjeux stratégiques du financement des PME qui se poseront au cours des prochaines phases de la pandémie ; il s’agira en effet d’éviter le surendettement des PME, de promouvoir une gamme diversifiée d’instruments de financement, de stimuler la création d’entreprises et de renforcer la résilience des PME par des mesures structurelles.
The design of intergovernmental fiscal relations can help to ensure that tax and spending powers are assigned in a way to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Decentralisation can enable sub-central governments to provide better public services for households and firms, while it can also make intergovernmental frameworks more complex, harming equity. The challenges of fiscal federalism are multi-faceted and involve difficult trade-offs. This synthesis paper consolidates much of the OECD’s work on fiscal federalism over the past 15 years, with a particular focus on OECD Economic Surveys. The paper identifies a range of good practices on the design of country policies and institutions related strengthening fiscal capacity delineating responsibilities across evels of government and improving intergovernmental co-ordination.
This paper presents and discusses the general findings and key policy messages of the 2019 OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable data (OURdata) Index, and provides a detailed analysis of the results for each pillar and sub-pillar. Additionally, it assesses the main advancements and challenges related to the design and implementation of open government data (OGD) policies in OECD member and partner countries by comparing the results for 2019 with those of the 2017 edition. This policy paper contributes to the OECD work on the digital transformation of the public sector, including digital government and data-driven public sector and open government data.
In Norway, sick-leave compensation and disability benefit is comprehensive and an important component of employee rights and benefits. However, despite policy attention, use of these systems is excessive; sickness absence and disability benefit recipiency levels remain extraordinarily high compared with other countries. This paper compares Norway’s reform experience and policy settings with those of three countries that also have comprehensive support and that have faced similar problems: Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland. All four countries have made a number of changes to sick leave and disability benefit systems. However, it appears that Norway’s reforms have so far been rather less successful. A broad impression in comparing the reforms is that Norway has conducted fewer measures involving reductions to entitlements and improvements in work incentives compared with the other countries.
Swiss society is ageing. At the same time, life expectancy is increasing. With most workers retiring around age 65, time in retirement is growing and the ratio of retirees to employees is set to soar. These developments bring a range of opportunities but will likely weigh on growth in GDP per capita and increase public spending. They may also widen existing inequalities. This paper highlights three key policy challenges to preserve high living standards in coming decades. First, the pension system ensures good retirement incomes despite a lack of reforms. However, reforms are urgently needed as the system is under increasing pressure. Second, a range of disincentives and barriers in the labour market and tax system contribute to early retirement and involuntary retirement. Boosting employability at older ages and broadening older workers’ options would dampen the economic impact of ageing. Third, the Swiss health system delivers good outcomes but at a higher cost than other countries, and ageing will only exacerbate the associated pressures. Cost containment and improved co-ordination are vital. Adjusting the financing of long-term care could improve access and the overall quality of long-term care.
This paper analyses the reform of Switzerland’s agricultural policy framework, which reoriented subsidies to better target policy objectives, including for biodiversity. The paper outline the process involved in designing and implementing the reform as well as its environmental and socio-economic impacts. It also highlights the challenges encountered and concludes by discussing the wider lessons for other governments seeking to tackle similar challenges. The country study draws on the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform.
Switzerland’s overarching agricultural policy objectives reflect societal concerns about various production aspects of agriculture, such as environmental sustainability and animal welfare, and the expectation that agriculture will provide public goods demanded by society. Among the various policy instruments used by Switzerland to achieve these objectives, border protection represents a significant component of support. This study assesses the relevance of border protection for agriculture in Switzerland. It finds that border protection is not relevant for achieving the overarching objectives of Swiss agricultural policy, with one exception. By stimulating domestic production, high levels of border protection ensure that Switzerland meets its target rate of gross food production. But border protection is unlikely to deliver the other outcomes and public goods desired by Swiss society. This is because support provided through border protection is not conditional on delivery of the outcomes and public goods demanded by Swiss society, and is untargeted towards the activities, inputs and regions most strongly related to those outcomes and public goods. Moreover, border protection imposes significant costs on the Swiss economy. The study concludes by proposing alternative policies in place of border protection.
Switzerland makes more use of its human resources than most other OECD countries. Labour force participation is high and the unemployment rate low for most segments of society. This ensures a high standard of living for most Swiss people. Nevertheless, productivity growth is relatively slow. While this may in part be attributable to already being an advanced economy, it also means that Switzerland cannot be complacent with regard to education and skills. Its admirably low youth joblessness suggests that the transition from education to work is functioning soundly. However, there is mounting evidence that as the structure of industry is changing, due to globalisation and digitalisation for instance, vacancies and skills mismatches are spreading. The mix of skills being taught differs from those taught in most other high income OECD countries in which a common secondary school track predominates and the emphasis is on equipping young adults with academic tertiary qualifications. In this context, it is important that the system is flexible enough to respond to shifts in the demand for skills and that workers continue to learn. While the participation of women and immigrants in the economy compares relatively well, more can still be done to improve equity in the accumulation of skills.
This Working Paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of Switzerland
(http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-switzerland.htm).
Swiss GDP per capita stands amongst the top OECD performers. However, to face medium-term challenges productivity developments will be key to allow the country to maintain its enviable position. Recent trends have not been favourable, with productivity growth underperforming peer countries. Based on macroeconomic analysis and supported by firm-level data, results point to a significant role for competition, innovation, education, firm characteristics and entrepreneurship. The regulatory environment is a crucial element driving productivity and could explain some of the differences across cantons. It is also an important factor for productivity differences across sectors. Other issues weighing on Switzerland’s future performance include risks from ageing, which can have major consequences on productivity via its influence on economic sectors and also via the age structure and the evolution of productivity through working life. Fully utilising the potential of underrepresented population segments would also be beneficial, notably encouraging full-time participation of women and better integrating immigrants. More enterprise creation could be achieved with increased entrepreneurship education, expanded non-bank financing and a reduced regulatory burden. R&D, while an obvious success in Switzerland, has apparently not produced commensurate returns in output. Diversification, more knowledge sharing, a stronger role for higher education institutions and promotion of start-ups would help reinforce the links from R&D to productivity.
This Working Paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of Switzerland
(www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-switzerland.htm).