http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-switzerland.htm
2017 OECD ECONOMIC
SURVEY OF SWITZERLAND
Boosting productivity and meeting skills needs
Bern, 14 November 2017
@OECD
2
Living standards are high
OECD Better Life Index, 2017
Index scale, 0 (lowest) to 10 (best)
Note: For each dimension indicators are normalised and averaged.
Source: OECD, Better Life Index.
Income and wealth
Jobs and earnings
Housing
Work and life balance
Health status
Education and skills Social connections
Environmental quality Personal security
Subjective well-being
Switzerland
3
The economy is growing but only slowly
GDP growth
Source: SECO.
-4 -2 0 2 4 6
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
4
Employment is high
Source: OECD, Labour Force Statistics database.
Employment-to-population ratio
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Switzerland OECD
5
Productivity has stalled
Source: OECD, OECD Economic Outlook 102 database, preliminary version.
Trend labour productivity growth
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 0.0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
-30
High skill Middle skill Low skill % pts
6
The demand for skilled workers has been
strong
Contributions to changes in total employment growth over 2000-16
Note: Countries are ordered by the contribution of high-skill employment
Entrenching the expansion
8
Fiscal policy is sound and public debt low
Gross general government debt, % of GDP
Note: The shaded area denotes the 25th to 75th percentile range for OECD countries. OECD is an unweighted average of data for available countries.
Source: OECD, OECD Economic Outlook 102 database, preliminary version.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
9
Unconventional monetary policy has
supported growth
Source: Swiss National Bank; Thomson Reuters Datastream; OECD, OECD
Economic Outlook 102 database, preliminary version.
Interest rates
SNB’s foreign exchange reserves
0
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 % of imports
CHF/EUR
10
Low interest rates increase risks
Source: OECD, House Price database.
House prices, 2010 = 100
80 90 100 110 120 130
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Ratio to consumer prices
11
Household credit is high
Source: OECD, Vulnerability Indicators database.
Household credit, % of GDP, 2017 Q1
0
12
Age-related public spending will become
a fiscal burden
Long-term projections for age-related spending, % of GDP
Source: Federal Department of Finance (2016), Report on the Long-term
Sustainability of Public Finances in Switzerland.
9
2013 2030 2045
By type of spending
Long-term care Health care Pensions (AHV/IV) Education
0
2013 2030 2045
By level of government
13
The current account surplus is large
Current account balance in OECD countries with a surplus, 2016
Source: OECD, OECD Economic Outlook 102 database, preliminary version.
14
High household saving is contributing to
the large current account surplus
Net saving and investment balances in selected countries with a current account surplus
% of GDP
Source: OECD, Annual National Accounts database; Federal Statistical Office;
OECD calculations.
-2
DNK DEU NLD SWE CHE
To support growth:
Avoid persistent budget underspending through better
co-ordinating procedures at federal and sub-national
levels.
Reduce agricultural subsidies and pursue efficiency
gains in public spending to free up funds for
measures that enhance growth and inclusiveness.
To reduce risks:
Eliminate remaining explicit cantonal government
guarantees to their public banks.
Establish a formal framework for setting mortgage
lending limits that takes affordability into account and
is enforced on a comply-or-explain basis.
15
To address ageing-related challenges:
Fix the retirement age at 65 for both sexes, and
thereafter link it to life expectancy.
Increase financial incentives to work longer before
retirement.
Promote programmes to lengthen healthy working
lives, including preventative health programmes.
Promote lifelong training, career planning and tailored
job-
search assistance to enhance workers’ resilience
to change.
16
Boosting productivity for
long-term growth
3
POL CHL
%
18
Productivity is high, but sluggish
Average annual rate of trend labour productivity growth over 2006-16
19
Switzerland is a leader in R&D and
innovation
Innovation performance indicator
EU average level in 2010 = 100
Source: European Commission (2017), European Innovation Scoreboard 2017.
0
ISR IRL
NO
FIN DNK
S
WE CHE
20
The productivity of frontier firms has
diverged from the rest
Labour productivity, 2002 = 100
Note: Markers denote survey years. Labour productivity is calculated as value added per employee.
Source: OECD calculations based on KOF, Swiss Innovation Survey.
0 50 100 150 200 250
21
The administrative burden is heavy
Share of firms that discontinued their business citing bureaucracy as the
main cause, %
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2015/2016, Report on Switzerland.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
22
Regulatory barriers to competition are
high
Product market regulation indicator
Res
tricti
ve
ne
ss
1. ”Least restrictive countries” is the average of the three countries with the lowest score in each sector. Scores range from 0 to 6 and increase with restrictiveness.
2. Network sectors overall is the unweighted average of transport, communicationand energy.
Source: OECD, Product Market Regulation database.
0.0
Transport Network sectors overall²
23
Barriers to trade inhibit competition and
productivity
Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, for sectors with largest gaps
Res
tricti
ve
ne
ss
Source: OECD, Services Trade Restrictiveness Index database.
0.00
storag
e an
24
Most women work part-time
Part-time employment as a share of total
Source: OECD, Labour Force Statistics database.
0
Men Women
To improve framework conditions:
Increase private ownership and remove barriers to
entry in energy, telecommunications and transport.
Remove representatives of economic associations
from the
competition authority’s board.
Lower restrictions on trade in both goods and
services, notably in agricultural products.
Complete the negotiations for free-trade agreements
that are underway.
Finalise the virtual one-stop shop for administrative
matters.
Establish cantonal physical contact points to improve
delivery of advisory services and public financing
programmes.
25
To better use skills of women and immigrants:
Increase childcare affordability.
Shift income taxation to individual rather than
household incomes, or implement equivalent
measures.
Facilitate high-skilled immigration from non-EU
countries to meet labour market needs.
26
Ensuring a dynamic skills
training and life-long
learning system
28
The education and training system is
successful
Youth not in employment, education or training
% of 18-24 year-olds
Source: OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017.
0
CAN GBR USA SVK
29
Immigration has helped to meet the rising
demand for skilled workers
Contribution to working-age population growth by education and nationality, % points
Source: Federal Statistical Office.
-4
Tertiary Lower secondary
Upper secondary
30
sector
of
IT
an
d Commu
nica
Total economy
Accommodation & food services
Manufacture of metal products
Trade and repair of motor vehicles
Real estate & scientific services
Manufacturing of computers & watches
Manufacture of other specialised machinery
Finance & insurance
IT & communications
31
Tertiary education should further expand
Entry rates for bachelor’s degree or equivalent
¹
1. First-time entry rates, excluding international students. First-time entry rates indicate the share of young adults expected to enter that type of tertiary education programme during their lifetime.
Source: OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017.
BEL DNK SVN IRL AUS
32
Participation in life-long learning is high
25-64 year-olds participating in education and training in the preceding four weeks, 2016
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey 2016.
0
SWE CHE
33
Participation in life-long learning is not
broad-based
Difference in participation rates of those with high and low levels of education, 2016
11. 25-64 year-olds participating in education and training in the preceding four weeks. Difference in participation rate of those with tertiary education and less than upper secondary school.
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey 2016.
0
IRL POL BEL
Collect more detailed data on skills to facilitate adjustments to
education in response to changing labour market needs.
Enhance the effectiveness of pathways between vocational
and general streams by increasing the academic component
of the vocational curriculum and vice-versa.
Encourage small firms to participate more in apprenticeships
by promoting sharing of apprenticeship places between firms
and training centres that undertake part of the training.
Strengthen linkages between the vocational education and
training system and employer associations in school-based
vocational training.
Use subsidies to encourage participation in continuing
education and training for groups with low participation rates.
34
For more information
Disclaimers:
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
35
http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-switzerland.htm
@OECDeconomy
