Archive: Smart Government

The Major Misconception

Bye bye baby-boomers ! Why are fast-changing societies no longer categorized into “generations”?

14.08.2017, Salomè Vogt

Refusing to Say Farewell

Bye bye baby-boomers ! Why the eternally young withdraw stealthily

07.08.2017, Thomas Held

Public Ratio Spending and the Delimitation of Public and Private

What does “public ratio spending” represent, and what is its scope in Switzerland ?

11.07.2017, Marco Salvi

«Everything Was Politicized: From the Jeans That Were Worn, to Rock and Roll and Even Sexuality»

Bye bye baby-boomers ! Michael Wiederstein and Daniel Müller-Jentsch meet Michael Hermann and talked about the political legacy of the baby-boom generation

10.07.2017, Daniel Müller-Jentsch

Switzerland Must Prepare for the Next Challenges

Roger Partridge, Chairman of the New Zealand Initiative think tank, met with Avenir Suisse

30.06.2017, Jakob Schaad

Four Myths about Foreign Trade

An argument in favor of economic success, based on a presentation by Daniel Ikenson (Cato Institute)

14.06.2017, Lukas Rühli

Positive Culture of Austerity: Switzerland’s ’Debt Brake’

Focus of the month Since the early 2000’s, Switzerland’s fiscal institutions have been successful in keeping the overall levels of taxation and spending at moderate levels. The Swiss debt brake is the ideal model for other countries lacking fiscal discipline to embrace. Although the debt break is already part of many governments’ policies in the form of typical numerical fiscal rules, the mechanism needs to be used for more than just to stave off the immediate economic threat of becoming overwhelmed by a wave of accumulated state debt.

26.04.2017, Mariusz Lukasiewicz, Tibère Adler

Trump’s Tax Plans Are a Significant Threat to Switzerland

Is Switzerland under increasing pressure to reform?

18.04.2017, Marco Salvi

Liberal Shadow Budget

An endurance test for budgetary policy - Part 2

30.03.2017, Fabian Schnell et al.

Rethinking International Trade and Migration after Brexit and Trump

Focus of the month, Think Tank Summit Think-tankers from six countries analyzing the changing geopolitical framework

14.03.2017, Mariusz Lukasiewicz

Combining Efforts for Switzerland’s Higher Education System

Switzerland could become an important global exporter of higher education.

28.02.2017, Patrik Schellenbauer

Switzerland’s Federalism Relies Upon Fiscal Competition, but the Financially Weakest Are not Left Alone

Focus of the month Switzerland is the ultimate bottom-up Federal State

20.02.2017, Tibère Adler

NFA 2 – Towards a Revitalisation of Swiss Federalism

The new study by Avenir Suisse calls for the implementation of "NFA 2" (Intercantonal Tax Allocation 2) to fundamentally revitalize the fiscal nature of Swiss federalism. The handling of fiscal transfers between the cantons is to be clarified, and a clearer separation of responsibilities between the federal government and the cantons must be promoted.

13.01.2017, Lukas Rühli, Natanael Rother

The New Reality of Global Trade

Analyzing the economic consequences of the US presidential elections: A Swiss perspective

14.12.2016, Peter Grünenfelder, Patrik Schellenbauer, Patrick Dümmler, Fabian Schnell, Marco Salvi

An Endurance Test for Budgetary Policy

Part 1: Expand the debt brake, don’t restrain it

20.10.2016, Marco Salvi, Fabian Schnell

Billions in Public Money Wasted on Loss Making Power Stakes

Low electricity prices have put pressure on generating companies. That’s problematic for Switzerland’s cantons and municipalities too: since 2010, the value of their stakes in the sector has dropped by about SFr 6.5bn.

13.09.2016, Natanael Rother, Patrick Dümmler

Commuters Must Learn What Mobility Costs

Mobility Pricing will lead to less stress and lower costs for commuters

18.08.2016, Daniel Müller-Jentsch

Au revoir Early French

Foreign language teaching is getting the Swiss hot under the collar again – particularly when it comes to which of the four national languages should be taught as a second tongue in primary schools. However the story ends, it would be undesirable to let the issue dilute cantonal responsibility for education, as that would handicap creative solutions from the start.

10.08.2016, Fabian Schnell