and receives financial support from the cantons Solothurn and Aargau as well as associations and companies of the area.


2. Methodology

Employment figures (adjusted for VAP, that is full-time jobs) and net added value are used to measure and describe economic activity in the area. Net added value represents each company's contribution to the area's net domestic product.

Net added value is defined as a company's turnover (earnings gained from business activity) deducted by the costs of all raw materials, prefabricated materials and services purchased from other comanies as well as depreciation costs. Furthermore, earnings not directly derived from business activitiy ans extraordinary earnings (minus costs) asre added to the business-related added value.

Added value is redistributed in form of salaries and additional labour costs to the employees, in form of taxes and rates to the State and other public authorities, and in form of interest rates and dividends to the investors. What remains is at the company's disposal for further business activity.

The definition of economic sectors is based on the Swiss systematology concerning economic sectors (NOGA), which corresponds to the European systematology "NACE". For the purpose of analysis, however, the various industries are not divided into the usual three sectors (original production, manufacturing industry and services), since this would be of little use for a survey of regional economic activity. Therefore, the economic survey includes six sectors: agriculture, energy/water/mining, industry, trade, services and public works.


Address

Our address	Wirtschaftsstudie Nordwestschweiz Postfach 12 4133 Pratteln 2
Telephone	+41 61 270 60 25
Fax	+41 61 270 60 05
Email	r.fueeg@borisat.ch