Editions

Michael Graff, Co-Head of the Research Division Macroeconomic Forecasting and Data Science, explains his views on the successful initiative for a 13th monthly AHV pension payment and the future of the welfare state in an age of demographic change. He also reveals what plans he has for his retirement.

As in many other countries, wealth concentration in Switzerland has increased in recent decades and remains high. At the same time, taxes have regularly been reduced over the last 50 years. Wealth tax cuts explain around a quarter of the observed growth in wealth concentration. This means that there are other key drivers of wealth inequality besides taxes.

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.

Michael Graff, Head of the Research Division "Macroeconomic Forecasting", explains why inequality should be a key topic in economics and why redistribution and efficiency do not necessarily have to be opposites.

Countries, as well as constituent states within countries, compete for high-income taxpayers. Tax competition and attempts to keep aggressive tax practices in check have increased in recent decades. However, even if low income-tax rates attract top earners, this does not necessarily mean that simple tax cuts alone will pay off. Typically, only a combination of measures leads to success.

Using Swiss tax data, KOF economists Isabel Z. Martínez and Regina Pleninger are investigating the role of income and wealth over the life cycle as part of an ongoing research project. This article provides an initial insight into this work.

The main reason for the persistent gender differences in the labour market is the unequal distribution of unpaid work. This leads to women doing less work than men, which has a negative impact on their performance in the labour market.