Exchange rate effects on cross-border commuting

Evidence from the Swiss–Italian border

Bibliographic Data

ID12694241
AuthorsPiera Bello (0000-0001-7066-875X, Università della Svizzera italiana, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume20
Issue4
Pages969-1001
Publication date2019-08-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Economic Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-2702 • E-ISSN: 1468-2710
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/jeg/lbz025
OpenAlexW2976652072
LanguageEN
References cited9

Are cross-border workers responsive to changes in the exchange rate between the home and host countries’ currencies? I answer this question by examining the effects of the appreciation of the Swiss franc (CHF) relative to the euro (EUR) on labour supply decisions of Italian cross-border workers. I use hourly data on traffic flows in Ticino, the southernmost canton of Switzerland, together with three additional datasets (the Cross-border Commuter Statistics, the Swiss Earnings Structure Survey, and Google trend data). The results show that a 10% appreciation in the CHF increases the number of cars along the Swiss–Italian border by 1.6–2.7% more than in the rest of the canton. This effect is found only during specific time intervals, which differ according to the direction of traffic flow; specifically, from Italy to Switzerland in early morning, from Switzerland to Italy in the afternoon, and in both directions in late morning. Moreover, when the CHF is stronger, more people from Italy look for jobs in Ticino, and the number of cross-border workers increases in municipalities within a driving distance of up to 10 km from the border. Finally, additional evidence suggests that cross-border workers also react to the appreciation by increasing their number of hours worked

Border effect · Demographic economics · Earnings · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Morning · Sociology · Statistics · Survey data collection · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · Medicine · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Demography · Finance

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