News
A new publication written by Swiss Economics.
The research article «Impact of VAT-Exemptions in the Postal Sector on Competition and Welfare» by Swiss Economics and researchers from the University of Zurich shows how service providers exempted from the obligation to pay a value-added tax are favoured in competition. Further, this unequal treatment substantially affects outsourcing decisions and the labour market.
Helmut Dietl, Christian Jaag, Markus Lang, Martin Lutzenberger and Urs Trinkner (2011). «Impact of VAT-Exemptions in the Postal Sector on Competition and Welfare». In Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, pp. 267-280.
Published in the same book: Maegli Martin, Christian Jaag, Martin Koller and Urs Trinkner (2011). «Postal Markets and Electronic Substitution: Implications for Regulatory Practices and Institutions in Europe». In Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, pp. 109-122.
An article by Christian Jaag and Urs Trinkner has been published in the Journal of Regulatory Economics.
The research article «The interaction between universal service costing and financing in the postal sector: a calibrated approach» by Christian Jaag and Urs Trinkner has been published in the Journal of Regulatory Economics.
Christian Jaag gave a presentation on «Yet another case of unintended consequences: VAT exemption and the public interest» at the DG MARKT economic seminar.
The presentation illustrates the distortive effects of VAT exemptions on competition in a newly liberalized industry and how they can be included in the calculation of the net cost of universal service obligations.
Swiss Economics presented the paper «An Economic Framework to Understand and Assess Regulations in Network Industries».
Swiss Economics presented the paper «An Economic Framework to Understand and Assess Regulations in Network Industries» at the 2010 Conference on Competition and Regulation in Network Industries.
In addition to a theoretical framework, he also presented two applications: Liberalization in network industries and the development of regulation in the postal sector.
Swiss Economics welcomes Oliver Fürst as a new staff member!
Oliver Fürst holds a Master of Arts in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Zurich. At Swiss Economics he works as a consultant for strategy and regulation in network industries.
Swiss Economics contributed three new research papers to the Conference on Trends and Innovation for the Postal Market.
Post Office Network Realignments and their Impact on Innovation
To the presentation
Postal Regulation, Declining Mail Volumes, and the Transformation of Business Models?
To the presentation
Postal markets and electronic substitution: What is the impact of intermodal competition on regulatory practices and institutions? The paper has received the «best paper award».
To the document
Swiss Economics contributed with three presentations to the 18th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics.
- Impact of VAT-Exemptions in the Postal Sector on Competition and Welfare
- Postal Markets and Electronic Substitution: What is the Impact of Convergence on Regulatory Practices and Institutions?
- Practical Approaches to USO Costing and Financing
At the «Second Annual Conference on Competition and Regulation in Network Industries» Christian Jaag has given a presentation on «Approaches to FTTH-Regulation: An International Comparison».
Christian Jaag gave a presentation on «Approaches to FTTH-Regulation: An International Comparison» at the 2nd Annual Conference on Competition and Regulation in Network Industries.
A presentation by Urs Trinkner.
At the «IPC Senior Executive Forum on Regulation» Urs Trinkner has given a presentation on «Shaping the USO? An Outline of Thought from an Economic Perspective».
A presentation by Christian Jaag.
At the 42nd Freiburger Verkehrsseminar, Christian Jaag gave a presentation on «Preisobergrenzen in liberalisierten Postmärkten» (in German).
Matthias Hafner and Nicolas Greber were awarded first and third place at BBA's 5th Scientific Conference for their research presentations.
Matthias Hafner and Nicolas Greber, two of our blockchain researchers, have made their mark at BBA's 5th Scientific Conference, with first and third place awards for their research presentations.
Matthias explained the recent depeg of the second largest stablecoin USDC and under what conditions stablecoins could lose their value. The paper and slides were created in collaboration with Marco Henriques Pereira, Juan Beccuti and Helmut Dietl.
Nicolas proposed mechanisms for handling liquidity risk using the DeFi lending platform Folks Finance. The paper and slides are the result of joint work with Matthias Hafner, Romain de Luze, Juan Becutti, Benedetto Biondi, Gidon Katten, Michelangelo Riccobene, and Alberto Arrigoni.
More about the British Blockchain Association.
Swiss Economics presents the study "Effectiveness of Corona Measures in Switzerland "
Effectiveness of Corona Measures in Switzerland
Michael Funk presented our study “Effectiveness of Corona Measures in Switzerland” at the 4th Workshop of the Swiss Network on Public Economics (SNoPE). The network aims to strengthen the ties between academics, public administration, the Swiss National Bank and private institutions such as Swiss Economics. This is exactly the intersection we address in almost all of our projects. The study provides important insights into the effectiveness of individual Corona measures in Switzerland. In addition, as the discussion at SNoPE also showed, important lessons can be learned about the opportunities and challenges of empirical evaluation for the public sector. In particular, meeting academic standards and solving non-trivial identification problems while facing time and budget constraints.
In light of the Shanghai update of the Ethereum blockchain, which allows stakers to unstake their ETH, we find it timely to investigate crypto staking in a series of upcoming blog posts.
In our first blog post, we explain the basic terms, economics and mechanisms of staking designs. Later, we compare the staking designs of seven different blockchains.
You can find the whole publication and our new Company Profile on Medium.
Don't hesitate to follow us there to stay updated on our upcoming publications!
Ramon Gmür joins the team as Economist, Romain de Luze promoted to Senior Economist.
Ramon Gmür strengthens our team as an Economist focusing on economic policy, regulatory economics and data analysis. Ramon studied economics, politics and history in his Bachelor's degree at the University of Zurich. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Data Science from the University of Zürich, with a special focus on Econometrics and Statistics. During his studies, he worked several years for two chairs at the University of Zurich. Prior to his studies, he worked for a major Swiss bank and earned the business title “Wirtschaftsfachmann KSZH.
Romain de Luze has been promoted to Senior Economist with a focus on regulation, data analytics and risk management. His areas of expertise include energy, financial services and cryptoassets. Additionally, Romain is involved in the development of Swiss Economics in French-speaking Switzerland and France. He holds a Master’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Lausanne and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Berne. Before Swiss Economics, he worked for several years as a quantitative analyst for a reinsurance company in Zurich.
We congratulate both of them and wish them much success and fun in their new activities for Swiss Economics.
Christian Jaag and Samuel Rutz were awarded "Leading Practitioners" by WWL in the category of Competition Economics.
Every year, Who's Who Legal identifies the world's leading competition economists. This year, Swiss Economics is represented twice - by Christian Jaag and Samuel Rutz - in the illustrious circle of "Leading Practitioners" in Europe (EMEA). We would like to thank our clients for the great trust they place in us.
WWL on Christian Jaag and Samuel Rutz:
Christian Jaag of Swiss Economics receives a lot of recognition for his economic expertise. And is described as an expert who "ensures razor-sharp analyses and can explain highly complex issues simply".
Samuel Rutz is described by peers as an outstanding competition economist in Switzerland who brings his experience as former Chief Economist of the Swiss Competition Commission to bear on the concerns of his clients.
What possibilities are there for using Blockchain Technology to make processes in the creation of value with IP more secure, transparent and efficient? A study for the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).
Intellectual property, for example in the form of patents or copyrights, protects inventors from free riders and thus creates incentives to invest more in research and development and in creative works. IP is also relevant to the rapidly developing field of Blockchain Technology and applications. IPI would like to better assess the current and, more importantly, future demand for IP-services.
As part of this study, we are conducting a survey to which we would like to cordially invite you. The outcome of this survey will be key in shaping the IPI's services related to blockchain and IP. You can participate in the survey until October 31, 2022 over the following link: www.swiss-economics.ch/ip-survey.html.
If you are active in the field of Blockchain and/or IP, we would be delighted to incorporate your opinions, experience and expertise in this study.
We have a new Logo!
Swiss Economics has a new logo. It was designed by Diego Bally and symbolizes our abbreviation "SE". The majority of its components are pointing upwards. The logo represents our development so far and our vision for the next years. Since September, it has decorated our office windows.
The new logo will be rolled out gradually over the next weeks and months. First, we will adapt our web presence, then we will implement it in our documents.
We hope you like it!
Beatrix Marosvölgyi joined our team as an Economist. Her focus lies in environmental and political economics.
Beatrix’s expertise lies in environmental economics, regulatory impact assessments and digital markets. She completed her bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Lucerne and her master's degree at the University of Bern with a focus on environmental economics. Her master's thesis focused on the change in air pollutants due to the aircraft grounding in U.S. airspace after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
During her studies, Beatrix worked for Swiss Post, the Universities of Lucerne and Bern, and Ernst & Young. She joined Swiss Economics in 2022 as an Analyst.
She is proficient in German and English with mother tongue Hungarian.
We wish Beatrix all the best for her future at Swiss Economics.
The Center for Cryptoeconomics partners with proof-of-stake Blockchain Algorand
Swiss Economics' Center for Cryptoeconomics (cryptecon) joins the Partner Program to intensify its services in the Algorand ecosystem. Algorand is a pure proof-of-stake blockchain focused on the convergence between decentralized and traditional finance. A perfect match for cryptecon with its strong expertise in tokenomics and protocol design for DeFi projects. Previously, cryptecon already advised several Algorand projects such as Folks Finance and Pact. We are now looking forward to intensifying our efforts on Algorand and providing our services as a Preferred Partner.
Algorand creates a green Blockchain with strong focus on efficiency and is exclusive Blockchain Partner of FIFA’s Men’s World Cup 2022 and official Sponsor of FIFA’s Women’s World Cup 2023.
More about Algorand.
We are pleased to announce that Nicolas Greber has joined the team as an Economist. His focus is on competition economics and data-driven analysis including artificial intelligence.
Nicolas Greber holds a bachelor's degree in economics with a focus on industrial economics from the University of Bern. He is currently completing his Master's degree in Economics at the University of St. Gallen with a thesis on the impact of artificial intelligence on competition.
How to design a Swiss Innovation Fund?
The Federal Council wants to strengthen Switzerland as a location for start-ups. On June 22, 2022, it made a decision in favour of a Swiss Innovation Fund. This is intended to improve the financing ecosystem of start-ups during the growth phase (to the press release).
In this context, Swiss Economics was commissioned by SECO to conduct a study on the fundamentals of such an Innovation Fund. The focus was on identifying international best practices and evaluating possible governance options for a Swiss Innovation Fund (Swiss Economics report).