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How does innovation come about, Mr Schumpeter?
He developed influential approaches to understanding technological progress and the nature of capitalism. What advice would he give us today? A fictional interview with the late Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter on innovation, digital technology and artificial intelligence.
Tariffs in the spotlight: a tool for analysing trade conflicts
US president Donald Trump is keeping the world on tenterhooks with his erratic tariff policies. KOF has developed a trade model that can be used to calculate the consequences of increasing protectionism in various scenarios.
“We are gradually becoming a power-dominated economy”
Protectionism and geopolitical tensions are threatening to undermine global trade. Germany is responding by introducing a growth-stimulus package of measures, the US Federal Reserve is in a quandary and the EU stands at a crossroads. KOF economists Heiner Mikosch and Alexander Rathke discuss what all of this means for Switzerland, where it is particularly vulnerable, what it can do now – and who benefits.
Many points, little effect? An Australian-style immigration system has its pitfalls
Few topics in Switzerland are discussed as emotionally and controversially as immigration and its management. Could a points system like the one in Australia and Canada be the answer? An analysis by KOF labour market economist Michael Siegenthaler.
“The trade conflict is currently overshadowing everything”
The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the private sector in Switzerland fell again in April, recording its third consecutive decline. Firms’ business expectations for the next six months show a similar pattern: forecasts are being adjusted downwards for the third month in a row.