No. 112, November
Bitcoin: Flavour of the Month or Tomorrow’s World Currency?
A conventional currency functions as a ‘medium of exchange’, a ‘store of value’, and a ‘unit of account’. Blockchain based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin satisfy only the first two of those criteria. So far, the use of bitcoin has been limited to a medium of exchange, but that could change.
The Increasing Significance of Chinese Visitors for Swiss Tourism
- KOF Tourism Forecast
- KOF Bulletin
Boom in Chinese tourism. The country has become the most important market of origin for the international tourism sector in terms of spending by tourists. Chinese visitors are also becoming increasingly important for the Swiss tourist regions, a trend which is also expected to continue into the coming months, as is shown by the most recent KOF Tourism Forecast commissioned by the SECO.
The Saga of the Swiss Franc: the Increase in the Value of the Franc and its Implications
- Labour Market
- KOF Bulletin
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has commissioned external studies to investigate the effects of the increase in the value of the Swiss franc on the structure of exports, employment, investment and R&D spending. These studies also include three KOF studies, which show how the increase in the value of the franc has impacted on the competitiveness of the economy as a whole, including employment, prices for industrial goods, investment, spending on research and development by exporters.