Price versus Commitment: Managing the Demand for Off-peak Train Tickets in a Field Experiment

Using data from a field experiment, we provide estimates for the own-price elasticity of train travel in Switzerland. Our estimates are based on exogenous changes to the level of discounts for long-distance trains and thus avoid the usual endogeneity problem between demand-dependent discounts. Besides the price, we also vary the length of the pre-sale period during the experiment, which allows us to recover the relative effectiveness of pricing and timing measures. We compute own-price elasticities of around -0.7. Extending the pre-sale deadline by one hour leads to an increase in the pre-sale of discount tickets by 2.1%, which is equivalent to a price decrease by 3.1%. Reducing the price by 10% causes customers to purchase the discount ticket 7 hours earlier. Our results help design measures for peak-shifting in transport at least societal cost

Die Schweizer Spitäler in der Covid-19-Pandemie : Auswirkungen auf die Fallzahlen der stationären Gesundheitsversorgung

Deutsch; diese Publikation ist auch in französischer Sprache erhältlich (BFS-Nummer: 1034-2204)Ende 2019 hat sich das Coronavirus weltweit verbreitet, mit den ersten Fällen in der Schweiz im Februar 2020 (BAG, 2020) und der Erklärung zur Pandemie durch die WHO im darauffolgenden März (WHO, 2022). Durch die Covid-19-Pandemie wurde das Schweizer Gesundheitswesen in verschiedener Hinsicht auf die Probe gestellt. Einerseits musste innert kurzer Zeit eine Vielzahl intensivpflegebedürftiger Patientinnen und Patienten aufgrund einer noch unbekannten Viruserkrankung behandelt werden. Andererseits wurden, um deren adäquate Versorgung zu garantieren, die nicht durch Covid-19 bedingten Behandlungen reduziert. So galt zwischen dem 16. März und dem 26. April 2020 («Frühlings-Lockdown») im Rahmen der ausserordentlichen Lage für Spitäler schweizweit ein Verbot für «medizinisch nicht dringend angezeigte Untersuchungen und Behandlungen» («temporäres Behandlungsverbot») (Bundesrat, 2020). Aufgrund der tatsächlichen oder antizipierten Auslastung der Intensivstationen mussten Spitäler auch nach dem Frühlings-Lockdown phasenweise Eingriffe verschieben. Wichtigste Ergebnisse Schweizweit reduzierten sich die stationären Fallzahlen während des Frühlings-Lockdowns 2020 im Vergleich zur Vorjahresperiode um 32,2%. Diese Reduktion wurde mit Ausnahme einzelner Eingriffe bis Ende 2020 nicht kompensiert. Auf das ganze Jahr 2020 betrachtet wurden in den Schweizer Spitälern 5,8% weniger stationäre Fälle behandelt als 2019. Der Rückgang der Fallzahlen während des Frühlings-Lockdowns war bei nicht-lebensnotwendigen Eingriffen und in Diagnosegruppen mit vielen elektiven Eingriffen am grössten, was zeigt, dass das Verbot für «medizinisch nicht dringend angezeigte Untersuchungen und Behandlungen» wirksam umgesetzt wurde. Im Tessin waren die Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf den regulären Spitalbetrieb früher festzustellen und die Reduktion der Fallzahlen war stärker als in den übrigen Grossregionen

Occurrence and outcome of firework-related ocular injuries in Switzerland: A descriptive retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Firework-related ocular injuries (FWROI) are a major cause of preventable visual impairment. This study aimed to analyze the occurrence and outcome of FWROI in Switzerland. METHODS This retrospective multicenter study included patients with FWROI from seven centers in Switzerland from January 2009 to August 2020. Demographic information, type of injuries, medical and surgical treatments, the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline and end of follow-up, occurrence and type of secondary complications, and duration of hospitalization were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 105 patients (119 eyes) with a mean age of 27.1 ± 15.9 years were included in the study (71.4% male patients; 29.5% underage). Most injuries occurred around New Year's Eve (32.4%) and the Swiss national holiday on 1 August (60.9%). The most common anterior segment findings were conjunctival or corneal foreign bodies (58%), whereas Berlin's edema was the most common posterior segment finding (11.4%). Globe ruptures were found in four patients. The mean BCVA in all patients at first presentation was 0.4 ± 0.8 logMAR and improved to 0.3 ± 0.8 logMAR at last follow-up. A primary surgical intervention was performed in 48 eyes (40.3%). Hospitalization directly after the trauma was necessary for 18 patients for a mean of 5.8 ± 4.1 days, and a total of 4.9 ± 7.6 follow-up visits were needed. CONCLUSION This study provides the first data on FWROI in Switzerland, which are helpful for further preventive and educational programs and comparisons with other countries

Association of Communication Interventions to Discuss Code Status With Patient Decisions for Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Whether specific communication interventions to discuss code status alter patient decisions regarding do-not-resuscitate code status and knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) remains unclear.; To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the association of communication interventions with patient decisions and knowledge about CPR.; PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were systematically searched from the inception of each database to November 19, 2018.; Randomized clinical trials focusing on interventions to facilitate code status discussions. Two independent reviewers performed the data extraction and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Data were pooled using a fixed-effects model, and risk ratios (RRs) with corresponding 95% CIs are reported.; The study was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines.; The primary outcome was patient preference for CPR, and the key secondary outcome was patient knowledge regarding life-sustaining treatment.; Fifteen randomized clinical trials (2405 patients) were included in the qualitative synthesis, 11 trials (1463 patients) were included for the quantitative synthesis of the primary end point, and 5 trials (652 patients) were included for the secondary end point. Communication interventions were significantly associated with a lower preference for CPR (390 of 727 [53.6%] vs 284 of 736 [38.6%]; RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.63-0.78). In a preplanned subgroup analysis, studies using resuscitation videos as decision aids compared with other interventions showed a stronger decrease in preference for life-sustaining treatment (RR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.48-0.64 vs 1.03; 95% CI, 0.87-1.22; between-group heterogeneity P < .001). Also, a significant association was found between communication interventions and better patient knowledge (standardized mean difference, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.39-0.71).; Communication interventions are associated with patient decisions regarding do-not-resuscitate code status and better patient knowledge and may thus improve code status discussions

On trains, wages and hospitals : three essays in public economics

Excerpts from the introduction: This dissertation deals with three research questions that can be situated in the field of public economics. [...] Chapter 2, Political Budget Cycles in Public Health Care Expenditure in Switzerland, examines whether health ministers increase health care spending or delay the closure of hospitals before they run for re-election. In addition to total public health care expenditure (PHCE), its sub-categories and indicators such as the number of hospitals are analysed with regard to patterns that indicate electoral cycles. The extent to which the hypothesised opportunistic motive plays a role is specified by the health ministers’ confidence in their re-election, which determines the perceived need for election-driven spending. In Chapter 3, The Impact of a Business Cycle Shock on the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Switzerland, together with Beaumont Schoeman I take advantage of the unanticipated Swiss Franc Shock in 2015 and its divergent impact on the unexplained gender wage gap (UGWG) of differently trade exposed sectors. [...] In Chapter 4, What is the Cost of Waiting for the Next Train? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Swiss Long-distance Trains, I investigate how the purchasing behaviour of tickets for long-distance trains changes when prices and pre-sale deadlines are adjusted. Furthermore, I make a monetary evaluation of the time customers commit themselves to take a specific train by purchasing the corresponding tickets. [...