Poverty in Times of Crisis: Evidence from the Covid-19 Pandemic using Administrative Data in Switzerland

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is primarily a health crisis, it also affected the economy and living conditions in many ways. According to epidemiologists, other global pandemics are very likely to occur in the near future, which reinforces the need to understand what works and what does not in times of pandemic-induced economic downturn. Based on what is known, the economic impact of pandemics has been uneven across the population. While some groups were little affected or even benefited from the new conditions, others suffered income losses. For example, Almeida et al. (2021), using the European Commission's macroeconomic forecasts, conclude that the at-risk-of-poverty rate, anchored at its 2020 value (i.e. the poverty threshold is held constant in real terms), is likely to have increased from 16.0% to 18.4% at EU level in 2020. However, it is not clear whether poverty has increased in general, as highlighted by the study by Bruckmeier et al. (2021) for Germany. They also find that the highest net household income losses are experienced by the lowest income deciles. But considering the discretionary non-employment benefits introduced by the German government at the onset of the crisis (additional family benefits and tax rebates), the authors actually find a slight increase in net income for households at the bottom of the income distribution. Furthermore, Brewer & Gardiner (2020) show for the United Kingdom that the bottom quintile is not the most affected in terms of household income, but that the share of respondents reporting a decrease in household income was highest in the second and third to bottom quintiles, suggesting that the pandemic may have led to poverty experiences for social groups that were previously above the poverty line. Initial studies in Switzerland have focused mainly on the situation during the first episode of partial lockdown, but there is a lack of comprehensive and systematic studies on the longer dynamics of the pandemic. This is mainly due to the delayed availability of robust data. Analyses based on registries or administrative data are still very rare. As a result, it is not entirely clear how the Corona pandemic affected inequality and poverty in Switzerland and how effectively the social safety net protected the population. Second, most studies to date report on distributional effects, but hardly any provide poverty estimates. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to generate knowledge about the economic impact of the Corona pandemic on society, with a focus on poverty, in order to (a) better understand how the most vulnerable in society are affected in a crisis and (b) gain insights into how to improve social security and crisis management for socially disadvantaged groups. The main research question can be formulated as follows: How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect poverty and low-income groups in Switzerland, and how well were those affected by the crisis covered by social security

Nichtbezug von Sozialhilfe in der Migrationsbevölkerung: Resultate eines natürliches Experiments als Folge der AIG‐Revision 2019

All Western nations implement social security systems to mitigate social risks like unemployment and poverty, though variations exist in the state's regulation across countries (Esping-Anderson 2009). Described as an "era of austerity" (Pierson 2001) recent decades witness a balancing act of benefits and privileges. Social assistance for the poor plays a crucial role in this context, offering support during financial emergencies. However, the effectiveness of these programs relies on the engagement of those in need. Failure to access public services by individuals with insufficient financial resources is termed hidden poverty, potentially leading to health risks and increased criminality. In Switzerland, the topic is gaining increasing attention (see (Lucas, Bonvin, und Hümbelin 2021). There are many reasons for not claiming social benefits. Previous studies have mentioned the level of knowledge about the conditions of entitlement, the complexity of the application process, the urgency of the emergency situation or social and psychological barriers such as feelings of shame (Eurofound 2015; Hernanz, Malherbet, und Pellizzari 2004). The legal framework, such as the repayment obligation or the increasingly strong link between the residence permit and the requirement of independence from social welfare, are also possible barriers to access. With respect to the latter the role of the design of the welfare state plays an important role. Following the “welfare magnet hypothesis”, that assumes that immigrants are likely to relocate to regions with generous welfare benefits, many reforms of immigration policies and social programs occurred in Switzerland in recent years. These reforms are potentially rooted in the fact that Switzerland, located at the center of Europe, did experience a large increase in population. Since the begin of the 20th century the population doubled from 3,3 Mio (1900) to 8.6 Mio (2019) . This growth is strongly driven by immigration. In 2021 a quarter of the Swiss population did not have a Swiss passport and up to 40% have a migration background . These developments did not occur without public debates. At the same time the fear of “benefit tourism” seams not empirical justified (Ferwerda, Marbach, und Hangartner 2023). Non the less Swiss policies aim at tightening the access to the social assistance to foreigners. A large reform occurred in 2019, that linked the extension of residential permit stronger to the independence of social assistance which lead to critical interlinkage of welfare and migration policies (Borrelli u. a. 2021). This tightening of the access to the last safety net of a country brings up new questions , that we intend to address in this paper: Did the reform of the foreigners and integration in 2019 law had an impact on foreigner living in Switzerland in hidden poverty not supported by the state

Von Daten zu Taten: Ein Datentool für die Caritas Schweiz

Caritas ist die grösste Nichtregierungsorganisation der Schweiz, die vielfältige Unterstützungsangebote für armutsbetroffene Menschen bereitstellt. Im Rahmen dieser Angebote werden Daten erfasst. Die Beratungsstellen der 16 regionalen Caritas-Organisationen etwa erheben verschiedene Daten von Klient:innen, die Auskunft geben zu den Problemlagen von Menschen in akuten Notlagen und zu erbrachten Leistungen. In den Caritas-Märkten, die Menschen mit knappen finanziellen Mitteln vergünstigte Produkte zur Verfügung stellen, werden Umsatzzahlen täglich nach Produktgruppen erfasst. Aktuell werden diese Informationen kaum für eine systematische Analyse genutzt. Sie wären für die regionalen Caritas-Organisationen, Caritas Schweiz und auch für weitere sozialpolitische Akteure (zum Beispiel Bund und Kantone) von Interesse. Bei dieser Challenge werden wir den aktuellen Stand der Datenerfassung und -nutzung erläutern und es werden ausgewählte Datenbestände aus dem Datenuniversum der Caritas zur Verfügung gestellt. Dabei stellen sich uns verschiedene Fragen: Welche Indikatoren können auf dieser Basis entwickelt werden, damit die Caritas-Akteure einen besseren Überblick über ihre Tätigkeiten erhalten? Wie können die unterschiedlichen Datenbestände in einem Tool integriert werden? Können auf dieser Basis Prognose-Modelle entwickelt werden, mit dem Ziel Armutsbetroffene besser zu unterstützen

Recording the heart beat of cattle using a differential system of optically pumped magnetometers

Livestock farming occupies about 30% of the Earth’s habitable surface area with a global value around £1 trillion. This important economic entity relies to a large extend on the health and wellbeing of the animals involved. Besides economic pressure there is also a growing interest of the consumer in the ethical keeping of livestock. Seeking physiological parameters that allow a close assessment of animal wellbeing has identified the animals’ heart beat as a possible parameter to monitor. The electric signal of the heart muscle excitation and relaxation does also carry a magnetic field component. Reading the magnetic field to query heart beat information does avoid the need for contact electrodes. We use two QuSpin Total Field Magnetometers (QTFM®) in a differential set-up to cancel common mode noise. Using the background noise to time-shift the two signals we optimize signal to noise ratio and record the magnetic heart signal over a noise floor close to 1 pT Hz-1/2 in the 1–100 Hz frequency band. By means of a correlation search algorithm we retrieve the heart rate and the shape of the magnetic heart excitation. Comparison to electro cardiograms shows good correlation

Resistance to natural and synthetic gene drive systems

Scientists are rapidly developing synthetic gene drive elements intended for release into natural populations. These are intended to control or eradicate disease vectors and pests, or to spread useful traits through wild populations for disease control or conservation purposes. However, a crucial problem for gene drives is the evolution of resistance against them, preventing their spread. Understanding the mechanisms by which populations might evolve resistance is essential for engineering effective gene drive systems. This review summarizes our current knowledge of drive resistance in both natural and synthetic gene drives. We explore how insights from naturally occurring and synthetic drive systems can be integrated to improve the design of gene drives, better predict the outcome of releases and understand genomic conflict in general

Recording the Heart Beat of Cattle using a Gradiometer System of Optically Pumped Magnetometers

Monitoring of heart rate has the potential to provide excellent data for the remote monitoring of animals, and heart rate has been associated with stress, pyrexia, pain and illness in animals. However monitoring of heart rate in domesticated animals is difficult as it entails the restraint of the animal (which may in turn affect heart rate), and the application of complex monitoring equipment that is either invasive or not practical to implement under commercial farm conditions. Therefore accurate non-invasive automated remote monitoring of heart rate has not been possible in domesticated animals. Biomagnetism associated with muscle and nerve action provides a promising emerging field in medical sensing, but it is currently confined to magnetically-shielded clinical environments. In this study, we use biomagnetic sensing on commercial dairy cattle under farm conditions as a model system to show proof-of-principle for non-contact magnetocardiography (MCG) outside a controlled laboratory environment. By arranging magnetometers in a differential set-up and using purpose-built low-noise electronics, we are able to suppress common mode noise and successfully record the heart rate, the heart beat intervals and the heart beat amplitude. Comparing the MCG signal with simultaneous data recorded using a conventional electrocardiogram (ECG) allowed alignment of the two signals, and was able to match features of the ECG including the P-wave, the QRS complex and the T-wave. This study has shown the potential for MCG to be developed as a non-contact method for the assessment of heart rate and other cardiac attributes in adult dairy cattle. Whilst this study using an animal model showed the capabilities of un-shielded MCG, these techniques also suggest potentially exciting opportunities in human cardiac medicine outside hospital environments

Patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes need improved management: a report from the EUROASPIRE IV survey: a registry from the EuroObservational Research Programme of the European Society of Cardiology

BACKGROUND: In order to influence every day clinical practice professional organisations issue management guidelines. Cross-sectional surveys are used to evaluate the implementation of such guidelines. The present survey investigated screening for glucose perturbations in people with coronary artery disease and compared patients with known and newly detected type 2 diabetes with those without diabetes in terms of their life-style and pharmacological risk factor management in relation to contemporary European guidelines. ----- METHODS: A total of 6187 patients (18-80 years) with coronary artery disease and known glycaemic status based on a self reported history of diabetes (previously known diabetes) or the results of an oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c (no diabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes) were investigated in EUROASPIRE IV including patients in 24 European countries 2012-2013. The patients were interviewed and investigated in order to enable a comparison between their actual risk factor control with that recommended in current European management guidelines and the outcome in previously conducted surveys. ----- RESULTS: A total of 2846 (46%) patients had no diabetes, 1158 (19%) newly diagnosed diabetes and 2183 (35%) previously known diabetes. The combined use of all four cardioprotective drugs in these groups was 53, 55 and 60%, respectively. A blood pressure target of 9.0% (>75 mmol/mol). Of the patients with diabetes 69% reported on low physical activity. The proportion of patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation programmes was low (≈40 %) and only 27% of those with diabetes had attended diabetes schools. Compared with data from previous surveys the use of cardioprotective drugs had increased and more patients were achieving the risk factor treatment targets. ----- CONCLUSIONS: Despite advances in patient management there is further potential to improve both the detection and management of patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease

Whole-Genome Positive Selection and Habitat-Driven Evolution in a Shallow and a Deep-Sea Urchin

Comparisons of genomic sequence between divergent species can provide insight into the action of natural selection across many distinct classes of proteins. Here, we examine the extent of positive selection as a function of tissue-specific and stage-specific gene expression in two closely-related sea urchins, the shallow-water Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and the deep-sea Allocentrotus fragilis, which have diverged greatly in their adult but not larval habitats. Genes that are expressed specifically in adult somatic tissue have significantly higher dN/dS ratios than the genome-wide average, whereas those in larvae are indistinguishable from the genome-wide average. Testis-specific genes have the highest dN/dS values, whereas ovary-specific have the lowest. Branch-site models involving the outgroup S. franciscanus indicate greater selection (ωFG) along the A. fragilis branch than along the S. purpuratus branch. The A. fragilis branch also shows a higher proportion of genes under positive selection, including those involved in skeletal development, endocytosis, and sulfur metabolism. Both lineages are approximately equal in enrichment for positive selection of genes involved in immunity, development, and cell–cell communication. The branch-site models further suggest that adult-specific genes have experienced greater positive selection than those expressed in larvae and that ovary-specific genes are more conserved (i.e., experienced greater negative selection) than those expressed specifically in adult somatic tissues and testis. Our results chart the patterns of protein change that have occurred after habitat divergence in these two species and show that the developmental or functional context in which a gene acts can play an important role in how divergent species adapt to new environments

Postmating Female Control: 20 Years of Cryptic Female Choice

Cryptic female choice (CFC) represents postmating intersexual selection arising from female-driven mechanisms at or after mating that bias sperm use and impact male paternity share. Although biologists began to study CFC relatively late, largely spurred by Eberhard's book published 20 years ago, the field has grown rapidly since then. Here, we review empirical progress to show that numerous female processes offer potential for CFC, from mating through to fertilization, although seldom has CFC been clearly demonstrated. We then evaluate functional implications, and argue that, under some conditions, CFC might have repercussions for female fitness, sexual conflict, and intersexual coevolution, with ramifications for related evolutionary phenomena, such as speciation. We conclude by identifying directions for future research in this rapidly growing field