bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Health Shocks and the Hazard Rate of Early Retirement in the ECHP
Authors: Hagan Ronald , Jones Andrew M. , Rice Nigel 
Published: January 2018

Summary
In this paper we use discrete-time proportional hazard models with internationally comparable longitudinal data from the full eight waves of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) to study the relationship between retirement, health levels and health shocks in nine European countries. The results show a consistency of effect with only small variation in magnitude both for latent health stock variables as well as the subjective SAH measures. This is compatible with previous findings that declining health is associated with an increased probability of retirement. Additionally a three-level graduated acute health shock variable was created, that shows evidence of a gradient in the effect.
Economies of Scale and Efficiency Measurement in Switzerland’s Nursing Homes
Authors: Farsi Mehdi , Filippini Massimo , Lunati Diego 
Published: January 2018

SummaryThis paper examines the cost efficiency in the nursing home industry, an issue of concern to Swiss policy makers because of the explosive growth of national expenditure on elderly care and the aging of the population. A stochastic cost frontier model has been applied to a panel of 1780 observations from 356 nursing homes operating over 1998–2002 in Switzerland. We compare the estimation results from different econometric techniques focusing on the specification of unobserved heterogeneity across firms. The potential effects of such unobserved factors on the estimation results and their interpretation have been discussed. The findings suggest that the economies of scale are an important potential source of cost reduction in a majority of Swiss nursing homes. Moreover the average performance of a representative nursing home is very close to the estimated best practice.
Regional Quantity, Productivity and Efficiency Measures of the Swiss Health Care System
Authors: Schleiniger Reto 
Published: January 2018

Summary
In Switzerland, there are substantial cantonal differences in per capita cost of the mandatory health care system. The present paper breaks these differences down into price and quantity effects revealing both, a large quantity and a somewhat smaller price variance across cantons. As a statistical fact, a positive correlation of price and quantity index results.
Dividing the inferred quantity output index by a corresponding input index yields a measure of total factor productivity. While the canton of Zurich exhibits the highest productivity, the measures in Geneva, Neuchâtel, Berne and Vaud are far below average.
Finally, a data envelopment analysis of hospital services shows little evidence for variable returns to scale implying that low productivities are, for the most part, due to pure technological slacks.
How Do the Determinants of Demand for GP Visits Respond to Higher Supply? An Analysis of Grouped Counts
Authors: Teckle Paulos , Sutton Matt 
Published: January 2018

SummaryAlthough there is a substantial literature on the determinants of demand for primary care, few studies have been able to examine how these determinants respond to higher supply. Some demand studies include supply variables or regional dummy variables to allow for different supply conditions. A few have tested for marginal effects of supply variables attributed at a highly aggregated geographic level. However, relatively little is known about whether there is a supply constraint and how demand responses differ across population groups. We used information from a household survey of 60,806 individuals for whom we had detailed information on supply and access conditions. As in many surveys, the annual measure of utilisation is a grouped count and we estimate a grouped negative binomial model (NegBin2) of the determinants of demand for general practitioner (GP) visits by Maximum Likelihood. We exploit a variable on which respondents were asked to report the convenience with which they were able to access GP services. We demonstrate the significance of this variable in determining the number of GP visits. We then examine which demand determinants are correlated with reported convenience. Finally, we compare the demand equations for respondents reporting unconstrained access to GPs with respondents reporting constrained access. We find that being unemployed has a significant positive effect on GP visits for individuals who reported poor access. People who own a car and reported a good access to GPs have significantly higher visits.
Liberalizing the Swiss Meat Market with the EU: Welfare Effects and Impacts on Third Countries
Authors: Campo Isabelle Schluep , Jörin Robert 
Published: January 2018

Summary
This article analyzes the welfare effects of multilateral versus bilateral trade liberalization between Switzerland and the EU in the meat sector. A multi-market multi-region partial equilibrium model is used. The removal of tariffs and tariff rate quotas between Switzerland and the EU results in noticeable net welfare gains for Switzerland. The impacts on the EU and on the rest of the world are minimal. However, multilateral trade liberalization is still first best.
Retrospective Price Indices and Substitution Bias
Authors: Diewert W. Erwin , Huwiler Marco , Kohli Ulrich 
Published: January 2018

Summary
The consumer price index (CPI) is usually computed as a fixed-weighted Laspeyres price index, with the weights updated at discrete intervals only. It is well known that the Laspeyres functional form entails a substitution bias. One way to reduce it would be to use chained indices, and superlative ones if possible. Unfortunately, the necessary data are often missing. This paper proposes a simple method to retroactively compute the CPI once updated weights become available. The proposed index has the Fisher form. This makes it possible to assess the size of the substitution bias. An application to Swiss data is provided.
Regional per Capita-Income — The Importance of Region-Specific Production Factors
Authors: Fornahl Dirk , Schaffer Axel , Siegele Jochen 
Published: January 2018

Summary
Endowment with infrastructure, human and cultural capital is highly significant for regional economic performance. After clustering the regions, this hypothesis is tested for Austrian, German and Swiss NUTS 3 regions by applying a quantile regression analysis.
First results confirm the hypothesis for all factors. However, coefficients differ significantly both between clusters as well as among the quantiles of each cluster. Furthermore, insights into the regions’ efficiency in using these factors are generated: investments into region-specific factors will not push the regional economy automatically, but the under- or over-average efficiency has to be taken into account.
Ten years’ experience with the Swiss National Bank’s monetary policy strategy
Authors: Jordan Thomas J. , Peytrignet Michel , Rossi Enzo 
Published: January 2018

SummaryIn December 1999 the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned monetary targeting and introduced a new monetary policy strategy. The cornerstones of the new framework are an explicit definition of what the SNB considers to be price stability, a forecast of inflation over a three-year horizon, and a target range for the three-month Swiss franc Libor. The strategy lived up to expectations in every respect and contributed to strengthening the SNB’s credibility. In particular, the new framework’s flexibility proved successful in times of financial stress. The term reference interest rate contains an automatic monetary stabilizer that has insulated the nonfinancial sector from much of the turbulence. The major challenge lying ahead is sustained accuracy in the assessment of future inflation.
Semiparametric base-independent equivalence scales and the cost of children in Switzerland
Authors: Bütikofer Aline 
Published: January 2018

Summary
How much additional income does a couple with two children need to be equally well-off as a childless couple? This question is important for public policy decisions on social benefits or child allowances. Since equivalence scales express the change in the cost required to attain a certain welfare level when the household size and composition varies, they answer this question. This paper provides semi-parametric estimates of consumption-based equivalence scales by applying the extended partially linear model to the Swiss Household Budget Survey 2000–2005. The results permit welfare comparisons across households and provide an indirect measure of the cost of children.
Is there a Swiss price puzzle?
Authors: Kaufmann Daniel , Lein Sarah 
Published: January 2018

Summary
This paper estimates the response of consumer prices to a monetary policy shock in Switzerland. We find that there is no evidence of a price puzzle at the aggregate level. This is because our factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) avoids misspecification by including more information than a traditional VAR. However, the response is still delayed by at least four quarters, partly because there is a price puzzle in some sectors. In particular, rents tend to rise after a monetary policy tightening because there are legal provisions in Switzerland which link them to interest rates. But durable goods prices also rise, which is consistent with the existence of a cost channel of monetary policy.
The Swiss debt brake — has it been a success?
Authors: Beljean Tobias , Geier Alain 
Published: January 2018

Summary
This paper describes how the Swiss fiscal rule at federal level has fared since it was introduced in 2003. Generally speaking, the rule has modified the budget process and led to a better implementation of fiscal policy objectives. It is argued that the most important factor is the existence of a binding ceiling for expenditure. The design of the mechanism is important in setting the right incentives. A basic feature of the rule is its simplicity and transparency. It is argued that an increase in sophistication would eliminate this advantage without guaranteeing preferable outcomes. It appears that the rule has contributed to a substantial reduction in nominal debt. This outcome has occurred against the backdrop of a favourable economic situation (which was not anticipated) and is primarily attributable to an underestimation of both revenues and economic growth. Nominal debt reduction may not materialise to the same extent under different circumstances. It appears that systematic underspending with respect to the budget leads to a bias towards budget surpluses. In addition, there has been no visible reduction in the quality of budget composition, and the fiscal policy stance as measured by the change in the cyclically adjusted budget balance has been appropriate given the prevailing economic conditions. While some design features may be debatable, the overall rules-based approach to fiscal policy has been successful.
How to enforce fiscal discipline in EMU: A proposal
Authors: de Haan Jakob , Gilbert Niels , Hessel Jeroen , Verkaart Silvie 
Published: January 2018

Summary
Based on Inman’s (1996) classification of successful fiscal policy rules, we argue that the Stability and Growth Pact suffers from two serious weaknesses: a politicized decision-making process and lack of effective instruments to enforce that Member States adjust their fiscal policies if needed. Although recent changes in the European Union’s governance of national fiscal policy are considered to be an improvement, we argue that they do not address these shortcomings sufficiently. More independent enforcement is needed, and our preferred long-term solution would be to delegate the enforcement of European budgetary rules to a fully independent Budgetary Authority. Once the enforcement by this authority is well established and government debt-to-GDP ratios have declined towards 60%, fiscal discipline could be strengthened even further by introducing well-designed Eurobonds as the capstone of EMU. We propose centrally issued Eurobonds for the full public debt under the condition that Member States will no longer be allowed to independently raise funds in the money or capital markets. The independent Budgetary Authority only distributes funds to Member States if they have sustainable fiscal policies as defined under the SGP or if they properly implement a strictly monitored adjustment program.
The Swedish fiscal policy framework and intermediate fiscal policy targets
Authors: Andersen Torben M. 
Published: January 2018

Summary
Sweden is a front-runner in defining intermediate targets for fiscal policy (fiscal rules) as well as in setting up an independent fiscal council to monitor and comment on developments. Swedish public finances are among the most sound in the OECD having been able to consolidate public finances and ensure fiscal sustainability, and they have maintained room for fiscal manoeuvre also during the financial crisis. This paper takes a closer look at the Swedish case as the stepping stone for a more general discussion of how to set intermediate targets for fiscal policy and the role fiscal councils may have in strengthening political accountability and thus ultimately credibility of fiscal policy. The Swedish fiscal framework is compared to the fiscal compact for EU countries, and it is argued that it has a number of desirable features.
Fiscal institutions in Germany
Authors: Burret Heiko T. , Feld Lars P. 
Published: January 2018

Summary
In 2009 Germany introduced a new fiscal rule in its Basic Law. It stipulates that the federal budget must be (structurally) close to balance from 2016 onwards and does not allow for (structural) budget deficits in the Laender (states’) budgets after 2019. While the already existing debt brakes at the Laender level have relatively wide loopholes, six states do not even seriously consider the introduction of new fiscal rules. In fact, only 9 of the 16 Laender as well as the federal level passed binding consolidation plans. Despite historically high revenues in 2011, most states ran deficits and increased public debt. In this paper, we analyze the German debt brakes at the federal and the Laender levels and assess the probability that the German jurisdictions manage to comply with the constitutional requirements of its debt brake.
Who benefits most from university education in Switzerland?
Authors: Perini Lionel 
Published: January 2018

SummaryRecent literature on private returns to education considers diversity in the population, heterogeneity in wage gains and self-selection into schooling. This research addresses these issues by analyzing to what extent returns associated with completing a university degree in Switzerland depend on the propensity to attend and complete this degree. Using data from the Swiss Household Panel and propensity score matching models, I find that low propensity men — after controlling for labor market variables — benefit most from a university degree while returns for women are rather homogenous along the propensity score distribution. This finding suggests that completing university increases more the earning capability of men with disadvantaged family backgrounds than that of men with more favorable background, refuting the hypothesis of comparative advantage. An auxiliary analysis focusing on the relationship between returns to education and inherent ability within a quantile regression framework leads to similar conclusions.
Assessing the Impacts of Non-Ricardian Households in an Estimated New Keynesian DSGE Model
Authors: Marto Ricardo 
Published: January 2018

SummaryA New Keynesian DSGE model with non-Ricardian households is estimated for the Portuguese economy and the stability of the model’s prediction (posterior distributions, impulse responses, and sources of fluctuations in endogenous variables) tested under different assumptions on non-Ricardian households. Their share is estimated to be relatively high (58 %). Furthermore, estimates of several parameters as well as the magnitude and persistence of shocks are particularly sensitive to the share of non-Ricardian households. Impulse responses to consumption preference and productivity shocks are amplified for lower shares; for greater proportions, the model predicts more noticeable responses to price markup and government spending shocks. Fluctuations in output growth are mainly driven by productivity shocks for a lower share and by price markup shocks in the opposite scenario. A high proportion of these households together with a high degree of price stickiness lead the Taylor-type interest rate rule solution to be locally indeterminate.
The Sources and Magnitudes of Switzerland’s Gains from Trade
Authors: Hepenstrick Christian 
Published: January 2018

Summary
This paper uses the modern workhorse model of quantitative trade theory (Eaton and Kortum, 2002) as a measurement tool to quantify Switzerland’s gains from trade. I find that individual trading partners matter surprisingly little for Switzerland’s welfare because of reallocation effects: if trade between Switzerland and some partner country is inhibited, other supplier countries step into the breach so that the losses are limited and typically amount to less than 1 %. The conclusions are different if one considers groups of countries such as for example the EU: participating in a multilateral 25 % trade cost reduction increases Swiss welfare by 11 % relative to the status quo. However, it must also be noted that in the case of non-participation, the actual welfare losses relative to the status quo are modest with less than 1 %.
Obesity and Health-Care Costs in Switzerland: Dealing with Endogeneity in Non-Linear Regression Models
Authors: Meyer Stefan 
Published: January 2018

Summary
We draw microdata from the Swiss Household Panel to estimate the causal effect of obesity on the number of physician visits, the amount of hospital days, and the respective costs incurred. We do so by simultaneously coping with three endogeneity issues, comprising reporting errors, omitted variables, and simultaneity. Using the conditional expectation approach, we first account for the reporting errors in weight and height. Second, we address endogeneity in the body mass index (BMI) by applying a control function approach. In contrast to the method of two-stage least squares, this technique is consistent in non-linear regression settings. Using the mean BMI of relatives as an instrument for the respondent’s BMI, we show that naïve regression methods considerably underestimate the impact of weight on the use of inpatient care, outpatient care, and costs. Accordingly, an additional unit of BMI raises annual health-care costs by CHF 253 or 11.5%, while the non-IV estimate amounts to only CHF 34 or 1.5%. Several robustness checks suggest the average marginal effect to be in the range of between CHF 220 and CHF 294. The model also predicts that if the overweight and obese people in the sample lost weight to the threshold of being of normal weight (BMI = 25), health-care costs could be reduced by about −4.7%. We conclude that the negative external effects caused by overweight and obesity are considerably larger than previously thought.
Collective Economic Conceptualization of Strategic Actions by Québec Cidermakers: A Mixed Methods–Based Approach
Authors: Cloutier L. Martin , Arcand Sébastien , Laviolette E. Michael , Renard Laurent 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe objective of this article is to estimate the spatial structure of the collective economic conceptualization of strategic actions by cidermakers in Québec. It employs group concept mapping, a mixed methods–based approach. Given the limited research on the economic conceptualization of horizontal coordination for guiding collective strategic action orientations, this contribution is threefold: methodological, empirical, and practical. Methodologically, the results show the perspective of horizontally coordinated cidermakers and use statistical estimates and retroduction as an inference mode to produce and structure the concept map. Empirically, the spatial economic conceptualization consists of a concept map with seven strategic action clusters organized around the notions of product supply and demand and highlights tensions between individual and collective strategic actions. Practically, measures of relative importance and relative feasibility are obtained for each cluster on the map, and implications are discussed. (JEL Classifications: D02, L23, L26, L66, Q18)
Consumer Preferences for Sustainable Wine Attributes: A Conjoint Analysis
Authors: Kelley Kathleen M. , Zelinskie Jennifer , Centinari Michela , Gardner Denise M. , Govindasamy Ramu , Hyde Jeffrey , Rickard Bradley , Storchmann Karl 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMid-Atlantic wine consumers participated in an Internet survey to determine which of three attributes (retail base prices, Botrytis cinerea [bunch rot] control measure, or weed-control strategy) and attribute levels (e.g., a retail base price of $12, $16, $22, or $26) were the most important factors in their decisions to purchase 750mL glass bottles of wine. Conjoint analysis was used to calculate average importance for the three attributes. Based on these calculations, the base retail price attribute had the greatest impact on participants’ decision to purchase the wine (57.40%), followed by bunch rot control measure (20.76%) and weed control strategy (21.49%). Participants were also asked to indicate how interested (not at all interested to extremely interested) they were in purchasing wines produced from grapes grown using minimal pesticides or with cover crops to control weeds. Separate conjoint analyses were then performed based on participants’ level of interest in the two sustainable production methods. In both instances, the average importance values for retail base price were still higher than the values for either bunch rot or weed control strategies. Average importance values for price were lower for participants who responded that they were “very” or “extremely interested” in purchasing wine produced with minimal pesticides or with cover crops than for participants who were “not all interested” in purchasing such wines. (JEL Classifications: Q18, Q11, M31)
Patterns of Relative Cost of Champagne by the Same Producer: Analysis of the Cost of Entry-Level, Mid-Range, and Flagship Champagne
Authors: Merton Paul J. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis paper examines the evolution of champagne prices in New York City from 1948 to 2013 by determining how many hours one must work, using after-tax income, to purchase a bottle of champagne. Each of the three brands analyzed—Bollinger, Louis Roederer, and Moët & Chandon—was divided into three tiers of nonvintage, vintage, and flagship champagne. The results indicated that all income groups worked fewer hours for entry-level nonvintage bottles of champagne, whereas the number of hours required to purchase flagship bottles generally increased. (JEL Classifications: E31, H24)