Wirkt das Schweizer Kurzarbeitsprogramm?

Daniel Kopp and Michael Siegenthaler

KOF Analysen, 2018, vol. 12, issue 1, 83-93

Abstract: Short-time work schemes aim at avoiding excessive layoffs in firms that face a temporary drop in demand. The instrument was widely used in many developed countries during the Great Recession. However, existing studies reach mixed conclusions regarding the effectiveness of short-time work programs. Do these programs postpone rather than prevent layoffs? This article examines whether the Swiss short-time work program effectively and sustainably reduced dismissals between 2009 and 2015. To this end, we compare employment in establishments that successfully applied for short time work with employment in establishments whose application for short-time work was denied by cantonal employment agencies. We find that approving short-time work secured the jobs of at least 10 per cent of an establishments’ workforce. The estimates suggest that the savings in terms of unemployment benefit payments may be large enough to compensate the spending on short-time work benefits in the Swiss case.

Keywords: Short-time work; Unemployment; Great Recession; Labor demand; Layoffs; Labor hoarding; Work sharing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J23 J63 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kof:anskof:v:12:y:2018:i:1:p:83-93

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