Table Of ContentOECD
D
ECONOMIC
SURVEYS
C
E
SWITZERLAND
O
1997
SPECIAL FEATURES
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING
OECD
ECONOMIC
SURVEYS
1996-1997
SWITZERLAND
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
(cid:211) OECD, 1997.
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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960,
and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed:
– to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising
standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and
thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
– to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member
countries in the process of economic development; and
– to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory
basis in accordance with international obligations.
The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the
United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subse-
quently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964),
Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973),
Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary
(7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996) and the Republic of Korea
(12th December 1996). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the
work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
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(cid:211) OECD 1997
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Table of contents
Assessment and recommendations 1
I. Recent trends and short-term prospects 15
Overview 15
Renewed fall in output 18
Rising unemployment 22
A stable price level 26
A large and stable current external surplus 30
The outlook to 1998 34
II. Macroeconomic policies 38
Monetary policy 38
Fiscal policy 49
III. Implementing structural reform: a review of progress 61
Reform of unemployment insurance 61
Active labour market policies 62
Working-time flexibility 65
Labour force skills and competences 65
Product market competition 68
Measures to reform business taxation 72
IV. Education and training 79
Attainment and structure of the formal education system 80
Achievement 92
Adult literacy 94
Responsiveness of outputs to client demands 96
iii
The transition from education to work 99
Labour-market outcomes by level of educational attainment 102
Costs of education and training 108
Tertiary education: financing and efficiency 113
Continuing education 119
Summary and conclusions 121
Notes 125
Bibliography 136
Annexes
I. Institutional arrangements in the education and training sector 139
II. Calendar of main economic events 145
Statistical annex and structural indicators 149
Boxes
Text
1. The apprenticeship system 83
2. University financing arrangements 116
Annex
A1. Areas of responsibility and administration 140
Tables
Text
1. Supply and use of current output 21
2. Employment in the 1990s 22
3. Level and structure of recent unemployment 24
4. Price trends 27
5. Current external account 33
6. Short-term projections 37
7. Monetary aggregates 41
8. Government accounts 50
9. Central government budget 53
iv
10. Financial outlook of the Confederation, 1998-2000 59
11. Evolution of unemployment insurance benefits and contributions 63
12. Implementing structural reform: an overview 66
13. Business telecommunications charges 70
14. The main direct taxes related to business activities, 1994 73
15. Corporate tax burden, 1965-94 73
16. Employment in private firms 75
17. Revenue effects of business tax reform 77
18. Percentage of women in the adult working-age population
by level of attainment, 1994 82
19. Vocational education by gender, linguistic region and age cohort 85
20. Educational choices after compulsory schooling 86
21. Secondary school drop-out rate 87
22. Tertiary graduation rates, 1994 90
23. Student achievement 93
24. Low literacy and migrant status 96
25. Public views on the relative importance of school subjects 98
26. The employment situation by regions and age groups 101
27. Overall rates of return to education 106
28. Public expenditure on education, 1994 109
29. Basic subsidies to cantonal universities 116
Statistical annex and structural indicators
A. Selected background statistics 150
B. Gross national product (current prices) 151
C. Gross national product (1980 prices) 152
D. Gross value added by main area of activity 153
E. Producer and import prices 154
F. Money supply 155
G. Interest rates and capital markets 156
H. Foreign trade by area 157
I. Foreign trade by commodity group 158
J. Balance of payments 159
K. Labour market: structural and institutional characteristics 160
L. The structure of taxation 161
M. Interest rate margins in banking 162
v
Figures
Text
1. Potential output and output gap 16
2. Key aspects of economic activity 17
3. Contributions to real GDP growth 20
4. Unemployment and vacancies 23
5. Total and long-term unemployment 26
6. International comparison of consumer prices 28
7. Selected components of inflation 29
8. International competitiveness and trade 31
9. Foreign trade indicators 32
10. Indicators of economic activity 35
11. The adjusted monetary base 39
12. Interest rates 43
13. Exchange rates 44
14. Monetary conditions index and the Taylor rule 48
15. Cyclically-adjusted budget balance 51
16. Budget balances and debt 51
17. Electricity prices in industry, 1995 71
18. Marginal and average tax rates of the federal direct tax on profits 75
19. Educational attainment of the adult working-age population, 1994 81
20. Adult literacy, 1994 95
21. Public confidence in schools 97
22. Relative youth unemployment by type of school system, 1994 100
23. Mean annual earnings by level of educational
attainment and gender 104
24. Education-related earnings premia, 1992 105
25. Public expenditure on education, 1993 110
26. Educational expenditure per student in relation to GDP per capita 112
27. Participation in job-related continuing education and training, 1993 120
Annex
A1. The Swiss education system 142
vi
BASIC STATISTICS OF SWITZERLAND
THE LAND
Area (1 000 sq. km) 41.3 Major cities, 1995 estimates (1 000 inhabitants):
Cultivated land, grassland and pastures Zurich 353.8
(1 000 sq. km), 1979/85 15.8 Basle 178.6
Forest (1 000 sq. km), 1979/85 12.5 Geneva 174.9
Bern 133.3
THE PEOPLE
Population, December 31, 1996, estimates (1 000) 7 085 Number of foreign workers (1 000),
Number of persons per sq. km 177 December 1996 869.7
Net annual rate of population increase Average increase in the number of foreign workers
(per 1 000 inhabitants, average 1990-94) 8.1 census, end of August (1 000):
Civilian employment, 1996 (1 000) 3 789 1962-72 16.8
Percentage distribution: 1973-96 0.9
Agriculture 4.5
Industry and construction 27.8
Other activities 67.7
PRODUCTION
Gross domestic product in 1996 Value added by origin in 1991
(billion Swiss francs) 360.1 (in per cent of GDP at factor cost):
Growth of real GDP, 1990-96 average Agriculture 3.0
(annual rate, per cent) –0.1 Industry 25.4
Real gross fixed investment in 1996 Construction 8.1
(in per cent of GDP) 30.0 Services 65.2
Growth of real investment, 1990-96 average
(annual rate, per cent) 0.1
THE GOVERNMENT1
Public consumption in 1996 (in per cent of GDP) 14.4 Composition of Parliament National State
Revenue of the Confederation in 1995 (in per cent): Council Council
(in per cent of GDP) 10.7 Radical Democrats 44 17
Total debt in 1995 (in per cent of GDP) 47.0 Democrats-christians 34 16
Socialists 58 5
Central Democratic Union 30 5
Other 34 3
Last elections: 1995
Next elections: 1999
FOREIGN TRADE
Exports of goods and services as a percentage Imports of goods and services as a percentage
of GDP (average 1992-96) 36.0 of GDP (average 1992-96) 31.8
Commodity exports Commodity imports
(fob, million Swiss francs, 1996) 94 174 (cif, million Swiss francs, 1996) 91 967
Percentage distribution: Percentage distribution:
By area in 1996 By area in 1996
To OECD countries 81.1 From OECD countries 91.3
To EU countries 60.7 From EU countries 79.0
To OPEC countries 2.8 From OPEC countries 1.5
By categories in 1996 By categories in 1996
Raw materials and semi-finished goods 28.4 Raw materials and semi-finished goods 29.5
Capital goods 36.3 Energy 3.6
Consumer goods 35.3 Capital goods 29.1
Consumer goods 37.7
THE CURRENCY
Monetary unit: Swiss franc Currency unit per US$, average of daily figures:
Year 1996 1.2361
June 1997 1.4418
1. Confederation, cantons and communes.
Note: An international comparison of certain statistics is given in an annex table.
This Survey is based on the Secretariat’s study
prepared for the annual review of Switzerland by the
Economic and Development Review Committee
on 24th June 1997.
•
After revisions in the light of discussions during the
review, final approval of the Survey for publication was
given by the Committee on 10th July 1997.
•
The previous Survey of Switzerland was issued in
July 1996.
