News

People drag a table into the new office

Relocation of our business premises

We have moved!

Right next to the tram station Ottikerstrasse we have found freshly renovated and bright office premises with more space.

Our new address:
Swiss Economics
Ottikerstrasse 7
CH-8006 Zurich

Eva Zuberbühler

Welcome to Swiss Economics

We welcome our new team member Dr. Eva Zuberbühler. Eva has a strong background in industrial economics an will strengthen our competences in regulation and competition economics.

Eva Zuberbühler is Economist with a focus on regulation, competition economics, valuation as well as strategy and pricing. Before she received a PhD from the University of Bern she worked for several years in the corporate client's division at a bank.

Landscape with lake, mountains and vineyard

Bienvenue en français

Our website is now also available in French.

To better serve our French-speaking customers our website is now available in French.

For the time being, some parts of the website such as News and Projects remain in English and/or German.

Visit our French website here.

Welcome to Swiss Economics

We welcome our new team member Romain de Luze, focusing on Data Analysis and Financial Services.

Romain de Luze is an Economist with a focus on data analytics, financial services and the energy sector. He studied at HEC Lausanne as well as at the University of Bern. He worked for several years as a quantitative risk analyst at a leading reinsurance company in Zurich.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Management and a Master's degree in Actuarial Sciences from HEC Lausanne and will soon complete a second Master's degree in Economics at the University of Bern.

jaag_christian

Christian Jaag receives Who's Who Legal award

Who's Who Legal Switzerland recognized Christian Jaag as Competition Economist of the Year for the third time in a row.

The Who’s Who Legal Awards are awarded each year to leading Swiss firms, specialist lawyers and experts in recognition of their outstanding performance and contribution to their respective industries.

Further information can be found here.

Max weber Prize emblem

Ann-Kathrin Crede receives Max-Weber-Prize for her PhD thesis

The German Economic Institute awarded Ann-Kathrin Crede for her outstanding PhD thesis in behavioral economics.

Ann-Kathrin Crede is awarded the Max-Weber-Preis. The German Economic Institute awarded her for her PhD thesis "Experimental evidence on behaviour in organizations and markets". The Institute honours young researchers for their contributions to business ethics and ethics of economics. Congratulations, Ann-Kathrin Crede!

Lukas Bruhin

Lukas Bruhin elected as member of the board of Swiss Economics

We are delighted to announce that Lukas Bruhin has been appointed to the Board of Directors. He will support our team with his expertise in the area of regulation and governance.

Lukas Bruhin ist Fürspecher und verfügt über langjährige Erfahrung in der Regulierung von Netzindustrien sowie in der Steuerung und Führung zentraler und dezentraler Einheiten des Bundes.

Er ist Präsident des Institutsrats von Swissmedic und war zuletzt acht Jahre Generalsekretär des Eidgenössischen Departements des Innern (EDI). Zuvor arbeitete er unter anderem im Eidgenössischen Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation (UVEK) als stellvertretender Generalsekretär sowie bei der Schweizerischen Post als Leiter Internationales und Regulierungsfragen und als persönlicher Mitarbeiter des Konzernleiters.

Der Verwaltungsrat von Swiss Economics entscheidet über die strategische und organisatorische Ausrichtung von Swiss Economics.

Virtual currencies and posts: A perfect match!

Our latest Swiss Economics update elaborates on the opportunities virtual currencies present to the postal sector.

Virtual currencies like Bitcoin are progressively gaining in popularity. However, limited availability still preempts their broad usage. Postal operators with their spatially comprehensive physical presence could play a key role in providing easy, quick and nationwide access to these alternative currencies. The postal network thus constitutes a natural bridge between the virtual and the physical worlds.

New staff member

Swiss Economics welcomes Dr. Christian Bach as a new staff member!

Christian Bach is a Project Manager with Swiss Economics and lectures at the EpiCenter, Maastricht University. He is an expert in game theory and works in network industries, regulation and on virtual currencies. After his studies of economics and philosophy, he received a Ph.D. in game theory from HEC Lausanne and Maastricht University. Christian Bach was a postdoctoral fellow at Maastricht University, and a visiting scholar at NYU Stern School of Business.

New publication

New publication on price regulation and the financing of Universal Service Obligations.

This article explores the complementary roles of price regulation and universal service regulation in network industries The analysis shows that current practices of costing and financing universal services may result in unintended market distortions. The article quantifies these effects and demonstrates how such distortions can be avoided.

To the article

Regulation of e-commerce

Swiss Economics' update for May 2013.

E-commerce is an important growth area for postal operators. In its update, Swiss Economics analyzes and discusses the risks and opportunities associated with maintaining or even extending the regulation of e-commerce.

Three new publications

Three new publications on consumer preferences, termination charges, and social cost of regulation.

How to better measure consumer preferences in the postal market? How to set international parcel termination charges? What is the social cost of regulation in the postal sector? In the recently published book «Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition» by Prof. M. Crew and Prof. P. Kleindorfer, three papers by members of Swiss Economics have been included that address these questions.

Regulation of e-commerce

Presentation at the 2nd European Postal Regulation Forum on the regulation of e-commerce.

Christian Jaag has given a presentation on the regulation of e-commerce at the 2nd European Postal Regulation Forum.
Smart grids, smart regulation

Presentation at the 3rd IEEE Smart Grid World Forum on the regulation of smart grids.

Urs Trinkner was asked by the 3rd IEEE Smart Grid World Forum to address the regulation of smart grids in an introduction and a panel discussion.

IRIT for railway passenger transport services

A presentation by Sonia Strube Martins.

At the 5th Annual Competition and Regulation in Network Industries Conference in Brussels, Sonia Strube Martins presented a paper on Integrated timetables for railway passenger transport services.

Universal Service Obligations and Patents

A presentation by Christian Jaag.

At the 3rd Annual Trends in Innovation in the Postal Market Conference, Christian Jaag presented a new research paper on the interplay of universal service obligations and patents in network industries.

Presentations at the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics

Swiss Economics contributed new research papers to the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics.

Swiss Economics contributed the following new research papers to the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics:

  • Defining and Financing an Intermodal USO
  • Competition and the Social Cost of Regulation in the Postal Sector
  • Termination Charges in the International Parcel Market
  • Measuring Consumer Preferences for Postal Services

All publications are available here.

New staff member

Swiss Economics welcomes Dr. Sonia Strube Martins as a new staff member!

After her studies in economics at the University of Münster Sonia Strube Martins received a doctoral degree in economics and worked as Senior Economist at Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur- und Kommunikationsdienste in Bad Honnef. At Swiss Economics she works as a project manager with a focus on competitive analysis of markets, regulation in network industries and economic policy.
Convergence in the communications market and regulatory challenges

Swiss Economics' update for February 2012.

The convergence of physical letter mail and electronic substitutes challenges postal operators and the regulatory framework alike. In its update, Swiss Economics analyzes and discusses the economic context.

Presentation on Competition and Regulation in the Postal Sector

A presentation by Christian Jaag.

At the Post-Expo 2011, World Postal Business Forum Christian Jaag gave a presentation on «The role of the universal service obligation in postal competition».

Publication on the Financing of Universal Service Obligations

The Review of Network Economics published a new article on the financing of universal service obligations.

The paper «What is an Unfair Burden? Compensating the Net Cost of Universal Service Provision» by Christian Jaag appeared in the Review of Network Economics. It discusses the net cost of universal service obligations and the potential burden they represent on the universal service provider. Specifically, it analyzes the situation in the postal sector after full liberalization.

The paper considers various interpretations of what an unfair burden might be and discusses the competitive impact of corresponding compensation scenarios by means of a stylized theoretical model with endogenous entry and coverage decisions.

To the paper

Presentations at the 19th CPDE in Jersey

Two new presentations on defending markets and adapting the USO in a future-oriented way.

Swiss Economics contributed two presentations and papers to the 19th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics:

«Defending Mail Markets against New Entrants»
To the slides

«Future of USO - Economic rationale for universal services and implications for a future-oriented definition of universal service obligations»
To the slides

Career Start in Economic Consulting

Job opening: Swiss Economics is looking for a passionate and exceptional economist.

Swiss Economics is looking for a passionate and exceptional economist with the capability to apply the most recent microeconomic concepts and to find pragmatic and robust solutions to complex problems. You are aiming at earning a doctorate to deepen your knowledge in industrial and regulatory economics and looking for an exciting career start opportunity in economic consultancy.

We are looking forward to receiving your CV and cover letter.