What are the driving forces behind populist movements that are currently gaining momentum all over the world and are disrupting existing political systems? The answer to this question is as complex as the phenomenon of populism itself. This became evident from the expert discussions at our Forum for Economic Dialogue last month. We would like to share some highlights with you, looking back on this successful event, which attracted over 600 people.

How does a tax system provide incentives for economic growth and reduce inequality? In an interview in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung Florian Scheuer comments on a number of considerations: Why we should be interested in the taxation of the super-rich, what tax rates maximize tax revenues without unwanted side-effects and what advantages and disadvantages a global system of turnover taxation would have. With much praise for the relatively low inequality in Switzerland, intergenerational income mobility is very limited. And, it can only be improved to a limited extent via the tax system.

It is not a new thought that globalization favors the rise of populists. Globalization dissolves borders and fuels fears. Whether in Spain or Thuringia: the populists have again made massive gains in the recent elections. They benefit from the fact that the liberal consensus of post-war reality is being thrown into a tailspin: contrary to the long-held promises of economic growth, free trade, deregulation, and liberalization of labor, goods, and financial markets are producing many losers as well. The disadvantaged people are receptive to promises of salvation from political dazzlers. In the Radio SRF "Tagesgespräch" with Marc Lehmann, David Dorn explains how strongly the populists change work environments and political certainties.

This year, three researchers from the field of Development Economics received the Nobel Prize for Economics. Congratulations to UBS Center advisory board member Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee (both MIT) and Michael Kremer (Harvard). They are known to the Swiss public - all three have visited the Department in the past and held Public Lectures at UZH. Development Economics is still a young but increasingly important field of research within economics. Two Nobel Prizes in the last five years acknowledge this development. These were awarded not only for the results and findings as such, but for the methods developed and applied to answer the research questions.