Policy Responses to Technological Change in the Workplace

The rise of new technologies has been a defining feature of advanced capitalist countries over the last decades, reigniting concerns about the future of work, rising inequality, and technological unemployment. While there is little doubt that rapid technological progress has far-reaching economic, social, and political consequences, little is known about viable and effective policies governments can implement to assist workers and communities in adjusting to a fast-changing economic landscape and rising labor market insecurity. This paper focuses on the ability of public policies to moderate technology-induced labor market vulnerability and its well-documented political downstream consequences. First, I suggest to theoretically classify policy responses according to their intended goal into a three-fold typology, distinguishing between investment, steering, and compensation policies. After that, I provide a detailed discussion on the current state of the empirical literature how such policy responses affect workers coping with technological change. In the last section, I discuss to what extent these findings can guide the adoption of policies to help workers adapt to technological change and point out potential avenues for future research

Do Citizens Care About Government Debt? Evidence From Survey Experiments on Budgetary Priorities

Ever since the Great Recession, public debt has become politicized. Some research suggests that citizens are fiscally conservative, while other research shows that they punish governments for implementing fiscal consolidation. This begs the question of whether and how much citizens care about debt. We argue that debt is not a priority for citizens because reducing it involves spending and tax trade-offs. Using a split-sample experiment and a conjoint experiment in four European countries, we show that fiscal consolidation at the cost of spending cuts or taxes hikes is less popular than commonly assumed. Revenue-based consolidation is especially unpopular, but expenditure-based consolidation is also contested. Moreover, the public has clear fiscal policy priorities: People do not favor lower debt and taxes, but they support higher progressive taxes to pay for more government spending. The paper furthers our understanding of public opinion on fiscal policies and the likely political consequences of austerity

Family Policy

Family policy has become an increasingly important policy area in Switzerland since the 1990s. Benefits and services to families have undergone profound transformations. Some reforms became possible because family policy was increasingly defined not only as social policy but also as social investment policy promoting employment and human capital formation. This ambiguity enabled reforms to be supported by heterogeneous reform coalitions, even if long-term coalitions remain unstable and depend on the specific reform proposal. Despite these changes, Swiss family policy is still underdeveloped and falls behind that of other continental European countries. Government spending on family policy is low by international standards, and the use of formal childcare is strongly stratified by income. Important factors contributing to this slow pace of family policy modernization in Switzerland are the decentralized distribution of competences with different levels of government and the use of various direct democratic instruments to prevent or delay reform initiatives at different levels of governance. Moreover, the party system’s increasing political polarization slows down reform efforts and undermines reform coalitions between socially progressive and economically liberal forces. In the face of these challenges, the adaptation of family policy to changing social and economic needs has become a litmus test for the reform capacity of the Swiss welfare state

The politics of welfare state recalibration in continental and southern Europe

Defence date: 13 June 2019Examining Board: Prof. Dr. Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute (Supervisor); Prof. Dr. Anton Hemerijck, European University Institute; Prof. Dr. Jane Gingrich, University of Oxford; Prof. Dr. Giuliano Bonoli, University of LausanneThis thesis argues that the politics of welfare state change do not follow the same dynamics as during the Golden Age. Post-industrialization, occupational change and the emergence of new social risks have considerably complicated partisan politics of the welfare state. Social democratic parties do not anymore pursue a clear strategy of welfare state expansion. Instead, they have changed their reform strategies over time depending on the relative electoral weight of different constituencies within their party. I argue that two crucial divides run right through the heart of the social democratic coalition: an occupational divide between the working class and the middle class and a social risk divide between labor market insiders and outsiders. In times of austerity, these divides become an issue of conflict pitting different constituencies within the social democratic coalition against each other. Relying on survey experiments, the thesis establishes in a first step the micro-level foundations of the argument and demonstrates that occupational classes and insider/ outsiders have distinct social policy preferences and priorities. Drawing on a self-collected database on all enacted labor market reforms in Continental and Southern Europe from 1990 until 2016, the thesis proceeds with an assessment of the multidimensional nature of labor market reforms and shows that economic, institutional, and simple partisanship explanations are insufficient to account for the variation in labor market reforms. The final part leverages the profound transformation of party electorates over time with a new measure on the electoral relevance of different constituencies within the social democratic party and combines it with the labor market reform data. Contrary to much of the literature, the results show that social democratic parties do neither uniformly follow a strategy of social investment nor do they always implement pro-insider policies. Instead, the electoral relevance of different constituencies is consistently related to labor market reforms under social democratic governments. A higher electoral relevance of the working class is related to more protection-oriented labor market reforms, whereas a higher electoral relevance of labor market outsiders leads to more pro-outsider labor market reforms. Overall, the thesis shows a remarkable responsiveness of social democratic parties to their voters’ demands and has important implications for the electoral fate of social democracy and our understanding of policy-making in post-industrial societies

Blessing or Curse? The Rise of Tourism-Led Growth in Europe’s Southern Periphery

Despite being one of the world's major internationally traded services, tourism remains neglected within debates on European integration and growth models. We highlight the rise of tourism-led growth in southern Europe and argue that the process of European integration has been a double-edged sword, simultaneously incentivizing and forcing southern European economies to reap their comparative advantage in tourism. While European integration has created the preconditions for the expansion of intra-European tourism, monetary integration pre-empts macroeconomic management. Since the eurozone crisis, internal devaluation and fiscal austerity have suppressed the domestic growth drivers, inducing these governments towards an export-led growth strategy. We document the emergence of unprecedented tourism-related current account surpluses in southern Europe, driven strongly by tourism imports from the EMU core countries and the UK. Thus, while different export-led growth strategies now coexist in the EMU, southern Europe's excessive reliance on international tourism for growth comes with severe pitfalls

Das Wählerpotenzial der Schweizer Sozialdemokratie

40 bis 45% aller Wähler*innen in der Schweiz können sich vorstellen, die SP zu wählen, aber nur etwa 40% von diesen potenziellen Wähler* innen tun es tatsächlich. Die SP verfügt demnach über ein beträchtliches unausgeschöpftes Wählerpotenzial. Überlappungen in den Wählerpotenzialen finden sich im links-grünen Parteienspektrum, aber kaum mit rechten Parteien: Die potenziell zusätzlich gewinnbaren SP-Wähler*innen finden sich vor allem in den Wählerschaften der Grünen und Grünliberalen und bei den jungen Nichtwählenden. Wer sind diese potenziell gewinnbaren Wähler*innen? Sie sind in der Tendenz jung, mehrheitlich weiblich und gut gebildet. Thematisch halten sie umweltpolitische, gesellschaftspolitische, internationale und institutionelle Herausforderungen für die wichtigsten Probleme, welche die Schweiz lösen muss. Im Einklang mit dieser Problemwahrnehmung finden im sozialdemokratischen Wählerpotenzial progressive gesellschaftspolitische Positionen die grösste positive Resonanz, stärker noch als sozialpolitisch expansive Positionen. Das Spiegelbild der potenziellen Gewinne bilden hohe potenzielle Verluste zu den beiden grünen Parteien: Gut 70 Prozent der SP-Wählenden können sich auch vorstellen, die grüne Partei zu wählen, fast 40 Prozent können sich auch vorstellen, die grünliberale Partei zu wählen

Wählerwanderungen rund um die Schweizer Sozialdemokratie

Fast 50 Prozent der Wähler*innen, die bei den nationalen Wahlen 2015 der SP Schweiz ihre Stimme gegeben hatten, entschieden sich bei den nationalen Wahlen von 2019 anders. Wer der Urne 2019 nicht gleich gänzlich fernblieb, wanderte vornehmlich von der SP zu den Grünen ab, während die medial oft beschworenen Wanderungen von der SP zur SVP praktisch inexistent waren und tatsächlich seit Beginn unserer Datenreihe Mitte der 1990er-Jahre nicht zu beobachten sind. Wieso? Erklärt die Zusammensetzung der Wählerschaften dieser Parteien diese Muster? Die Einstellungen der Wähler*innen? Und worin unterscheiden sich SP und GPS aus Sicht der Wähler*innen überhaupt? Könnten Unterschiede in der Wahrnehmung der Kompetenz von SP und GPS seitens der Wähler*innen erklären, wieso Wähler*innen (immer häufiger) von der SP zur GPS oder (immer seltener) von der GPS zur SP wechseln

High-Affinity Cu(I)-Chelator with Potential Anti-Tumorigenic Action-A Proof-of-Principle Experimental Study of Human H460 Tumors in the CAM Assay

Human lung cancer ranks among the most frequently treated cancers worldwide. As copper appears critical to angiogenesis and tumor growth, selective removal of copper represents a promising strategy to restrict tumor growth. To this end, we explored the activity of the novel high-affinity membrane-permeant Cu(I) chelator PSP-2 featuring a low-zeptomolar dissociation constant. Using H460 human lung cancer cells, we generated small tumors on the chorioallantoic membrane of the chicken embryo (CAM assay) and studied the effects of topical PSP-2 application on their weight and vessel density after one week. We observed a significant angiosuppression along with a marked decrease in tumor weight under PSP-2 application compared to controls. Moreover, PSP-2 exposure resulted in lower ki67+ cell numbers at a low dose but increased cell count under a high dose. Moreover, HIF-1α+ cells were significantly reduced with low-dose PSP-2 exposure compared to high-dose and control. The total copper content was considerably lower in PSP-2 treated tumors, although statistically not significant. Altogether, PSP-2 shows promising potential as an anti-cancer drug. Nevertheless, further animal experiments and application to different tumor types are mandatory to support these initial findings, paving the way toward clinical trials. Keywords: CAM assay; angiogenesis; copper chelation; human lung cance

The Swiss Approach - feasibility of a national low-dose CT lung cancer screening program

BACKGROUND Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Switzerland. Despite this, there is no lung cancer screening program in the country. In the United States, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening is partially established and endorsed by guidelines. Moreover, evidence is growing that screening reduces lung cancer-related mortality and this was recently shown in a large European randomized controlled trial. Implementation of a lung cancer screening program, however, is challenging and depends on many country-specific factors. The goal of this article is to outline a potential Swiss lung cancer screening program. FRAMEWORK An exhaustive literature review on international screening models as well as interviews and site visits with international experts were initiated. Furthermore, workshops and interviews with national experts and stakeholders were conducted to share experiences and to establish the basis for a national Swiss lung cancer screening program. SCREENING APPROACH General practitioners, pulmonologists and the media should be part of the recruitment process. Decentralisation of the screening might lead to a higher adherence rate. To reduce stigmatisation, the screening should be integrated in a "lung health check". Standardisation and a common quality level are mandatory. The PLCOm2012 risk calculation model with a threshold of 1.5% risk for developing cancer in the next six years should be used in addition to established inclusion criteria. Biennial screening is preferred. LUNG RADS and NELSON+ are applied as classification models for lung nodules. CONCLUSION Based on data from recent studies, literature research, a health technology assessment, the information gained from this project and a pilot study the Swiss Interest Group for lung cancer screening (CH-LSIG) recommends the timely introduction of a systematic lung cancer screening program in Switzerland. The final decision is for the Swiss Cancer Screening Committee to make