Switzerland : 2015 / OECD.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, contributor.

Series:

OECD Economic surveys (Series)

OECD Economic Surveys

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic history.

Switzerland--Economic conditions.

Switzerland.

Switzerland--Economic policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (125 pages).

Place of Publication:

Paris : OECD Publishing, [2015]

Summary:

Special features: Policies to tame the housing cycle; Raising public spending efficiency.

Contents:

Intro

Table of contents

Basic statistics of Switzerland, 2014

Abbreviations and acronyms

Executive summary

The economy has performed well, but productivity growth has been weak

The economy has been performing well

Taming the housing market cycle

Growth in real house prices

Improving the efficiency of public spending

Government spending

Assessment and recommendations

Figure 1. Real GDP growth and its main components

Figure 2. The OECD Better Life Index for Switzerland

Recent macroeconomic developments and prospects

Figure 3. Components of GDP growth and exchange rates

Figure 4. Macroeconomic indicators

Table 1. Macroeconomic indicators and projections

Figure 5. Monetary policy has been stimulative

Stability of the financial sector

Growth is expected to recover in 2016

Recommendation for macroeconomic policies

Boosting medium-term growth prospects

Figure 6. GDP per capita is one of the highest in the OECD due to high labour resource utilisation, 2013

Productivity issues

Figure 7. Real hourly wages have decoupled from labour productivity growth

Figure 8. Public ownership of telecommunications and utilities, and insolvency in the OECD

Demographic issues

Box 1. The popular initiative against mass immigration

Figure 9. Foreign-born population by origin, 2000 and 2010

Recommendations for boosting productivity and medium-term growth

Climate change issues

Figure 10. GHG emissions by sector and targets in Switzerland

Recommendations for climate change

Policies to tame the housing cycle

Figure 11. Real house price and rent indicators

Figure 12. Growth in domestic mortgage lending

Managing risks from the housing market

Figure 13. Share of new mortgages with high loan-to-value and implied debt-service-to-income ratios.

Recommendations for managing the housing cycle

Raising efficiency in public spending

Making the education system more inclusive and responsive to changes in the labour market

Fostering value-based competition and better governance in health care

Figure 14. Share of generics in the total pharmaceutical market, 2013 (or nearest year)

Transport infrastructure is also a good candidate for raising spending efficiency

Broadening the use of public tendering

Addressing rising welfare expenditure

Figure 15. Public expenditure on health care is set to increase in the medium term

Improving fiscal equalisation

Recommendations for increasing public spending efficiency and improving the fiscal framework

Adjusting to international best practice on tax issues, including information exchange

Cantonal tax regimes and ring fencing

The OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative

Implementing international standards regarding exchange of information in tax matters

Recommendations on international tax issues and information sharing

Bibliography

Annex. Progress in structural reform

Thematic chapters

Chapter 1. Policies to tame the housing cycle

Introduction

Figure 1.1. Affordability and absolute cost of housing in selected OECD countries, 2011

Developments in the Swiss housing market

Figure 1.2. House prices in Switzerland over recent cycles

Figure 1.3. Real estate prices by canton

Figure 1.4. Vacancy rates across cantons

The structure of the Swiss housing market

Figure 1.5. Ownership structure across countries

Figure 1.6. Housing expenditures in OECD countries

Home ownership rates are low but increasing

Figure 1.7. Home ownership in selected European countries, 2014

Figure 1.8. Pension and life insurance assets in OECD countries, 2013.

Drivers of developments in the housing market

Mortgage interest rates and affordability

Figure 1.9. Mortgage interest rates in Switzerland

Figure 1.10. Housing price-to-income ratios

Figure 1.11. Housing affordability and costs

Mortgage availability

Figure 1.12. Mortgage volumes and household disposable income

Demographics

Figure 1.13. Migration and natural population growth

Box 1.1. Changes in Swiss migration policy

Household income growth

Search for yield

Demand from non-residents

Box 1.2. Regulations for foreigners on the Swiss housing market ("Lex Koller")

Supply

Figure 1.14. Housing investment in selected countries

Figure 1.15. Housing supply responsiveness in selected countries

Spatial planning

Environmental standards

Taxation of housing

Taxation of owner-occupied housing services, real estate wealth and property transactions

Lock-in effects from capital gains taxation

Reform of the taxation of owner-occupied housing

Tenancy law and low rental yields

Figure 1.16. Rental yields in premier cities in selected OECD countries, mid-2014

Non-profit co-operatives and social housing

Table 1.1. Apartments owned by non-profit co-operatives, 2013

Macroeconomic risks from the housing market

Box 1.3. The 1990s Swiss banking crisis

Figure 1.17. Stock of residential loans relative to total bank loans and GDP

Figure 1.18. Total mortgage loans by bank type

Box 1.4. One hundred years of Raiffeisen banks in Switzerland

Table 1.2. Raiffeisen Group balance sheet and mortgage share

Prudential measures in the mortgage market

Table 1.3. Regulation and "self" regulation in the mortgage sector

Figure 1.19. Share of new mortgages with high loan-to-value and implied debt-service-to-income ratios

Risks to households

Figure 1.20. Household debt in OECD countries.

Recommendations to mitigate risks in the housing market

Chapter 2. Raising public spending efficiency

Figure 2.1. Government spending and employment

Box 2.1. Data Envelopment Analysis

Figure 2.2. Output inefficiency in secondary education, 2012

Figure 2.3. Output inefficiency in health care, 2012

Increasing production efficiency

Making the education system more inclusive and responsive

Figure 2.4. Enrolment rates in early childhood and primary education at the age of three

Box 2.2. MigraMENTOR

Figure 2.5. Premature exit from baccalaureate schools by canton

Box 2.3. Vocational education and training

Figure 2.6. Match between job requirements and training one year after graduation from a UAS, 2011

Recommendations for promoting efficiency in education spending

Figure 2.7. Decomposition of health expenditure developments and projections

Figure 2.8. Number of insurers by size of their portfolio of insured people

Table 2.1. Acute-care sector statistics in Switzerland

Figure 2.9. Share of generics in the total pharmaceutical market, 2013 (or nearest year)

Recommendations for promoting efficiency in health-care expenditure

Optimising the use of transport infrastructure

Figure 2.10. Hourly distribution of train passengers, Zurich Hauptbahnhof, 2014

Recommendation for promoting efficiency in transport

Enhancing competitiveness and efficiency in agriculture

Figure 2.11. Low productivity and high support in agriculture

Box 2.4. Direct payments in Swiss agriculture

Recommendations for promoting efficiency in agriculture

Allocating public expenditure efficiently

Figure 2.12. Trends in the gross debt-to-GDP ratio by level of government, 1990-2014.

Tackling the rise in pension expenditure

Figure 2.13. Public finance projections

Recommendations for tackling the rise in pension expenditure

Improving the efficiency of fiscal equalisation

Recommendations for improving efficiency in fiscal equalisation

Increasing the share of public procurement put out to tenders

Recommendations for using procurement to raise public spending efficiency

Bibliography.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

92-64-24706-8

OCLC:

1024279387