Articles
How would you solve the housing crisis, Mr Keynes?
He devised revolutionary prescriptions to save capitalism in crisis. We have tried an experiment to see what John Maynard Keynes would advise us to do today. Here are the late British economist’s replies in a fictitious interview about the housing market.
Digital technology: are small firms being left behind?
Big data, ChatGPT, virtual reality – artificial intelligence (AI) is omnipresent. But not all firms are benefiting to the same extent. While large companies upgraded digitally during the period between 2020 and 2022, many SMEs are lagging behind. There was also untapped potential in the combination of AI and big data – which could harm competitiveness in the long term. Here are the key findings from our recent study on the innovation landscape in Switzerland.
“Switzerland possesses a unique opportunity”
Rising tariffs, geopolitical conflicts and new bloc formations are casting dark shadows over global trade. In a major interview on the economy, KOF directors Jan-Egbert Sturm and Hans Gersbach discuss the changing world order, the greatest opportunities and risks facing Switzerland, and how it can position itself now.
“There is a general lack of economic stimulus”
The Swiss economy is not performing well at the moment. The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector, which is calculated on the basis of the KOF Business Tendency Surveys, fell in January. Exports are weakening owing to the lack of momentum in Europe, while the potential for exporters’ business is being assessed more cautiously. Although the domestic economy is relatively robust in some areas, how long can it continue to decouple from the negative trend in Europe?
Coincidental exchange: Where do the best ideas come from?
Early Bird – Column on everyday research by Professor Santosh Jatrana, Deakin University Melbourne, Australia. Here she shares her experience as a demographer in an economics institute.