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61. Inequality and Mortality: Long-Run Evidence from a Panel of Countries

Author:
Ricardo Hausmann and Edwin Lim
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
We investigate whether changes in economic inequality affect mortality in rich countries. To answer this question we use a new source of data on income inequality: tax data on the share of pretax income going to the richest 10 percent of the population in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US between 1903 and 2003. Although this measure is not a good proxy for inequality within the bottom half of the income distribution, it is a good proxy for changes in the top half of the distribution and for the Gini coefficient. In the absence of country and year fixed effects, the income share of the top decile is negatively related to life expectancy and positively related to infant mortality. However, in our preferred fixed-effects specification these relationships are weak, statistically insignificant, and likely to change their sign. Nor do our data suggest that changes in the income share of the richest 10 percent affect homicide or suicide rates.
Topic:
International Relations, Globalization, Health, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, and New Zealand

62. Competition Law and Policy in Switzerland

Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Competition policy plays a key role in promoting consumer welfare and market opening. Lack of competition is a main reason for the high prices of many products and services on the Swiss market. Traditionally, Swiss competition policy has been relatively lenient and low profile, allowing a relatively uncompetitive internal market to remain unchallenged. The impact of competition policy on economic development has therefore been at best neutral. As the slow rate of growth becomes an issue, however, a more vigorous approach to competition has been identified as an important factor for improving growth prospects. The 2003 reform of the Cartel Act strengthened Swiss competition law, in particular by introducing direct sanctions for the most serious infringements and a leniency programme, thus bringing it closer to that of the European Union and of many other OECD countries. The Swiss Competition Commission has been given considerable new powers to combat private restraints of competition. Comco will have to enforce the new laws resolutely and step up action to promote regulatory reforms. In doing so, it is burdened by institutional arrangements and mechanisms that temper its full independence. The Swiss competition enforcers do not benefit from the networks of exchanges available to national competition authorities in EU member States. Matters are further complicated by a relative lack of resources. Strengthening competition is a key for an effective internal market. The amendments to strengthen the Cartel Law and pending reform proposals signal determination on the part of the Confederation to tackle the problems. It is too early to say how effective they will be and the extent to which they will encourage a change in general attitudes, notably among the sub federal levels of government.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, and Law
Political Geography:
Switzerland

63. Institutions and Economic Growth: The Successful Experience of Switzerland (1870-1950)

Author:
André Mach and Thomas David
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This research paper discusses the role of institutions in the rapid growth and successful international integration of Switzerland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In analysing the emergence and consolidation of the institutions whose existence was crucial, the paper looks both at the political institutions that managed conflicts and promoted cooperation between private and public actors and the economic institutions that, on the one hand, compensated the groups that fell behind in the developmental process (e.g., agricultural subsidies, high tolerance for domestic cartels, tariffs for some industries, institutions for labour representation) and, on the other hand, enhanced productivity. In addition, the absence of some institutions such as a patent law and an independent central bank was also crucial in the Swiss case, even though these two institutions are regarded as pre-requisites of development by today's economic orthodoxy. The paper concludes by drawing lessons for today's developing countries.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
Europe and Switzerland

64. State Recognition of the Right to Food at the National Level

Author:
Margaret Vidar
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper considers to what extent the human right to food has been recognized by countries in the world, by analysing international obligations and constitutional provisions, bearing in mind that the right to food may be either explicitly or implicitly protected at the constitutional level. It considers constitutional examples from Switzerland, South Africa and India.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, and Switzerland

65. La política exterior de las entidades federativas: un estudio comparado

Author:
Jorge A. Schiavon
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This working paper analyses the causes of the increased international activity of federated states' units, and the way and intensity in which this activity takes place. First, it explains that the growing participation of federal entities in foreign policy is a product, on one hand, of increasing globalization and interdependence in the international system, and, on the other, of the internal processes of liberalization, democratization, and decentralization. Second, using the Mexican case as an example, it explains how the legal rules in the Constitution establish the limits of international participation of the states of the federation; then, it analyses how the institutional configuration, the division of power, and the division of purpose in the system influence the degree of intensity of participation of these federal units in foreign policy issues, within the constitutional limitations. Likewise, it considers economic capacity and geographical location of the states as variables that also seem to influence their degree of activity. Then, it briefly explores how Mexican federal entities have participated in the internacional arena. Finally, it describes the relationships, in terms of foreign policy, between different orders of government in other federal systems, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, and contrasts these relationships with those in Mexico.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Mexico

66. Economic Survey of Switzerland, 2003

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Although trend growth of GDP has been meagre for two decades (1.25 per cent against 2.75 per cent for the OECD average), per capita income in Switzerland remains among the highest in the OECD. In recent years, output growth was less resilient than in most other OECD countries, with the economy being in recession during the first semester of 2003. This is partly due to the global slump in the financial and capital goods sectors which are very important for the Swiss economy, but the unsatisfactory growth performance is largely attributable to the timid pace of structural reforms over many years. Against this background, there are three major challenges for economic policy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Switzerland

67. First Meeting of the DCAF Africa Working Group

Author:
Aneta Ratynska
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
The 1st Meeting of the DCAF Africa Working Group was held in Geneva, Switzerland on April 24, 2003. The objective of the Meeting was to facilitate the exchange of views, expertise and experience among participants involved in SSR related work in Africa, and to advise DCAF on programming for the region. Participants at the conference represented government, civil society, academic institutions, and donor and recipient countries.
Topic:
Security, Development, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Geneva, Africa, and Switzerland

68. Why are the Turks Hesitating on Iraq?

Author:
Soner Cagaptay
Publication Date:
01-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On January 25, Secretary of State Colin Powell met Turkish prime minister Abdullah Gul and the chair of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), Tayyip Erdogan, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Powell's meeting -- which followed a January 19 visit to Turkey by General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a December 6 visit by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz -- was aimed at persuading Ankara to allow American troops entry into Turkey in order to prepare a northern front against Iraq. After nearly two months of negotiations, the Turkish government still appears undecided on this issue. Why are the Turks hesitant to cooperate with U.S. military plans, and how can Washington overcome Ankara's indecision? Recent developments in Turkey may help answer both of these questions.
Topic:
Security and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, America, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, and Switzerland

69. Historians as political trouble-shooters: Officially Commissioned Surveys of Holocaust Legacies in France and Switzerland

Author:
Regula Ludi and Jean-Marc Dreyfus
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
In the 1990s, revelations, disclosures of archival documents, and class-action suits shed light on legacies of the Holocaust that had been neglected during the Cold War era. Since 1996 most European countries, the U.S. and many private businesses have appointed commissions of historians and other experts to investigate the still unresolved questions of property restitution and compensation payments. Such surveys caused controversies about the necessity and the meaning of a reevaluation of the memory of the Naziera in most countries. The authors of this paper both have worked as staff historians for such commissions, in France and Switzerland respectively. Based on their experience, they reflect upon the impact of officially appointed investigations on images of the past and their significance for the current political situation of the two countries.
Topic:
Cold War and Genocide
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Switzerland

70. Urban and Industrial Pollution Programs: Czech Republic Case Study

Author:
Matthew Addison, Steven Gale, Keith Forbes, and Michael Gould
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
In 1995 USAID Launched the Environmental Action Program Support Project. EAPS grew out of a 1993 international conference held in Lucerne, Switzerland, to develop a joint environmental action program. The project sought to decrease environmental degradation in six central and eastern European countries that were making the transition from centrally controlled economies and authoritarian governments to open markets and more democratic institutions. The Czech Republic was the first USAID-assisted country where EAPS was implemented.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Switzerland, and Czech Republic