Editions

Michael Graff, head of the Macroeconomic Forecasting research division at KOF, explains the advantages and disadvantages of the Swiss pension system and why pension reforms are so difficult to implement.

Politicians often act in a biased manner when allocating public funds. To date, however, it has only been possible to quantify strategic political bias on average. A recent analysis of government disaster relief allocation in response to hurricanes in the United States now shows that the extent of political favouritism varies greatly according to the decision-making situation. The issue is most pronounced for medium intensity storm events.

In her working paper entitled ‘Power Shifts, Emigration, and Population Sorting’ co-authored with political scientist Michaël Aklin, KOF economist Vera Eichenauer analyses the shift in power relations by using the example of the Swiss canton of Jura. In this interview she explains her key findings.