We must put on the table ten times more than what the Federal Council has promised. This is the opinion of two EPFZ professors, who ask on Wednesday for the creation of a fund of 100 billion francs to support the economy while the coronavirus continues to spread, stopping or idling. several sectors of the economy.
Also read:
Coronavirus management: economy applauds, unions demand more
While we await this Friday the details of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) on the use of the 10 billion promised by the Federal Council, Hans Gersbach and Jan-Egbert Sturm, also director of the KOF, the center of EPFZ macroeconomic research, believe that this is not enough. “The entire economic system is in danger,” they warn.
–
No debt brake
The fund is expected to replace a large part of the production that is not created in order to guarantee the liquidity of businesses and preserve jobs. In one text broadcast Wednesday morning, the two experts also call for an end to the requirement to declare bankruptcy. The state, they add, should offer a guarantee to businesses so they can continue to receive loans.
In addition, the debt brake must also be suspended, added Hans Gersbach and Jan-Egbert Sturm. Such a “Switzerland fund” requires “a huge mobilization of state funds”, they explain, adding that the current situation of public finances is favorable. “The fund would not endanger the credit quality of Switzerland if the country returns to the same level of production after the pandemic,” say experts.
Also read:
Monetary helicopter hovers over Switzerland
The KOF, which published its latest forecasts the day before, anticipates a recession in Switzerland in the first half. But the economy should rebound afterwards. Over the whole year, growth should be positive, at 3%. The institute then estimated that the measures, including easier access to partial unemployment, will avoid a “wave of layoffs”. The KOF nevertheless suggested other measures, such as a temporary tax deferral or facilitated guarantees for bank loans for the self-employed.
–
