Quote:Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In Switzerland,the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is 30 745 USD a year, more than the OECD average of 23 938 USD a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn close to five times as much as the bottom 20%.

In terms of employment, 79% of people aged 15 to 64 in Switzerland have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 65%. Some 85% of men are in paid work, compared with 74% of women. People in Switzerland work 1 632 hours a year, less than the OECD average of 1 765 hours. Having a good education is an important requisite for finding a job. In Switzerland, 86% of adults aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, higher than the OECD average of 75%. This is truer of men than women, as 89% of men have successfully completed high-school compared with 83% of women. This difference is higher than the OECD average and suggests women’s participation in higher education could be strengthened. In terms of the quality of its educational system, the average student scored 518 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This score is higher than the OECD average of 497. On average in Switzerland, girls outperformed boys by 6 points, less than the average OECD gap of 8 points.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Switzerland is almost 83 years, three years higher than the OECD average of 80 years. Life expectancy for women is 85 years, compared with 81 for men. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 19.8 micrograms per cubic meter, slightly less than the 20.1 micrograms OECD average. Switzerland performs better in terms of water quality, as 95% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, compared with an OECD average of 84%.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and a moderate level of civic participation in Switzerland, where 94% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 89%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 49% during recent elections. This figure is the lowest rate in the OECD, where average turnout is 72%, due to the high frequency of elections in the country. Voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is an estimated 61% and for the bottom 20% it is an estimated 43%, a broader difference than the OECD average gap of 11 percentage points.
In general, people in Switzerland are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 84% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc.) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc.). This figure is higher than the OECD average of 76%.


http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/switzerland/

(March 26th, 2015 at 7:05 AM)Hans Squeaky Wrote: I suppose I'm a proponent of letting the market do its own thing a bit more, but I'm not overly conservative about it. I do think that some labor laws are definitely a good thing.