No. 135, December

In November, Swiss companies reported no further slowdown of their business situation. Following a decline in September and October, the KOF Business Situation Indicator went up slightly in November (See Graph 6). Although the Swiss economy picked up to some extent in autumn, the economic environment remained difficult.

The turbulent history of the Swiss franc since the outbreak of the financial crisis has increasingly raised the question as to where the point of equilibrium is for the Swiss franc exchange rate. Although there cannot be any absolute point of equilibrium, attempts have nonetheless been made to assess the mispricing of the Swiss franc using the Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) model.

Increasing numbers of university students do internships during their time at university to prepare themselves for the labour market. However, there is little evidence whether or not such an investment actually pays off. A new study investigates this question.

The situation of young people on the labour market has clearly improved between 2016 and 2017. According to the latest KOF Youth Labour Market Index, Switzerland reaches the highest index score across Europe. Denmark drops to the second rank, but still shows a highly satisfactory situation on the youth labour market. With respect to the previous year, large improvements stem from the Eastern European countries, especially Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

A new database allows for the geolocation of global patent applications. Thanks to this database, technology clusters can be analysed and patent activities can be compared in different countries and cities. The data are also relevant to policymakers.