What happens to the skill structure of employment in Swiss manufacturing firms when exchange rates fluctuate?

July 2016: A new study by Boris Kaiser (BSS) and Michael Siegenthaler (KOF ETH Zürich) investigates how exchange rate fluctuations affect the skill structure of employment in Swiss manufacturing firms. The results show that an appreciation of the Swiss franc mainly hurts low- and medium-skilled jobs because they are more prone to outsourcing and automatization.

In contrast, demand for high-skilled workers may even increase. The authors explain their findings in a readable blog post in the LSE Business Review. The study has been published in a recent issue of The Economic Journal.