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.

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汇率对跨境通勤的影响：瑞士-意大利边境的证据

跨境工人是否对母国和东道国货币之间的汇率变化做出反应？我通过检查瑞士法郎（CHF）相对于欧元（EUR）的升值对意大利跨境工人的劳动力供应决定的影响来回答这个问题。我使用瑞士最南端州提契诺州的每小时流量数据，以及三个额外的数据集（跨境通勤者统计数据，瑞士收入结构调查和Google趋势数据）。结果表明，瑞士法郎升值10％，使瑞士-意大利边境沿线的汽车数量比其他州增加了1.6-2.7％。仅在特定时间间隔内会发现这种效果，具体时间间隔会根据交通流的方向而有所不同。特别是从清晨从意大利到瑞士，从瑞士到意大利，下午从清华到双向。此外，当瑞士法郎升值时，更多的意大利人会在提契诺州找工作，在距边境最多10公里的行驶距离内，市政当局中的跨境工人人数增加了。最后，更多证据表明，跨境工作人员也通过增加工作时间来对升值做出反应。