OECD Economic Surveys: Switzerland 2009

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OECD Economic Surveys: Switzerland 2009

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Economy of Switzerland - Wikipedia

Reviews of National Policies for Education: Tertiary Education in Chile Improving Health and Social Cohesion through Education. Before that time, the city-cantons of Zurich and Basel in particular began to develop economically based on industry and trade, while the rural regions of Switzerland remained poor and under-developed. While a workshop system had been in existence throughout the early modern period , the production of machines began in in St. Gallen , with the third generation of machines imported from Great Britain.

But in Switzerland, hydraulic power was often used instead of steam-engines because of the country's topography while there are no significant deposits of coal. By , hand weaving had been mostly replaced by the power loom. Both tourism and banking began to develop as an economic factor from about the same time. While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles.

In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry. Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants the second largest job category. The share of women in the workforce was higher between and than it was in the late s and s. Railways played a major part in industrialization with the first railway appearing in between Zurich and Baden. Switzerland's total energy consumption, which was dropping from the mid s to the early s, started increasing during the early s. This stagnated during the s before dropping again during the early s before an exponential growth which started in the mid s.

In the s, particularly during World War II, the economy profited from the increased export and delivery of weapons to the German Reich, France, Great Britain, and other neighbouring and close countries. However, Switzerland's energy consumption decreased rapidly. The conduct of the banks cooperating with the Nazis but not exclusively; they also cooperated extensively with the British and French and commercial relations with the Axis powers during the war became the subject of sharp criticism, resulting in a short period of international isolation of Switzerland from the world.

After World War II, Switzerland's production facilities remained to a great extent undamaged and both import and exports rapidly grew. Coal lost its rank as Switzerland's primary energy source, as other fossil fuels such as crude and refined oil and natural and refined gas imports increased. By the end of the decade oil provided over three-quarters of Switzerland's energy. In the s GDP growth rates gradually declined from a peak of 6. Switzerland became increasingly dependent on oil imported from its main supplier, the OPEC cartel. The international oil crisis caused Switzerland's energy consumption to decrease in the years from to From onwards GDP grew, although Switzerland was also affected by the energy crisis which resulted in a short-term decrease in Switzerland's energy consumption.

In the s, Switzerland's economy contracted by 1. Switzerland's economy was marred by slow growth in the s, having the weakest economic growth in Western Europe. The contraction also became apparent in Switzerland's energy consumption and export growth rates.

Economy of Switzerland

Switzerland's economy averaged no appreciable increase only 0. As of , Switzerland was at the second place among European countries with populations above one million in terms of nominal and purchasing power parity Gross Domestic Product per capita, behind Norway see list. On numerous occasions in the s real wages decreased since nominal wages could not keep up with inflation. However, beginning in , a global resurgence in currency movement provided the necessary stimulus to the Swiss economy.

It slowly gained momentum and peaked in the year with 3. In the early s recession , being so closely linked to the economies of Western Europe and the United States , Switzerland was not able to escape the slowdown felt in these countries. In the rate of growth dropped to 1.

That economic slowdown had a noticeable impact on the labour market. Many companies announced mass dismissals and thus the unemployment rate rose from its low of 1. Private consumption should be promoted with decent wage increases. In addition to that families with children should get discounts on their health insurances.

Switzerland's national bank should revive investments by lowering interest rates.

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Besides that monetary institutes should increasingly credit consumers and offer cheaper land zones which are to be built on. Switzerland's national bank is asked to devalue the Swiss Franc, especially compared to the Euro. The government should implement the anti-cyclical measure of increasing budget deficits. Government spending should increase in the infrastructural and educational sectors. Lowering taxes would make sense in order to promote private household consumption.

These measures were applied with successful results while the government strove for the Magical Hexagon of full employment, social equality, economic growth, environmental quality, positive trade balance and price stability. In , GDP growth was modest in the first half of the year while declining in the last two quarters.

Because of the base effect, real growth came to 1. While it contracted 1. Growth for was 2. The stock market collapse of deeply affected investment income earned abroad. This translated to a substantial fall in the surplus of the current account balance. In , Switzerland recorded a It went down to 9.

It recovered in and with a surplus of In August the unemployment rate was 2.

The chart below shows the trend of the gross domestic product of Switzerland at market prices: The following table shows the main economic indicators in — The Swiss economy follows the typical First World model with respect to the economic sectors. Only a small minority of the workers are involved in the primary or agricultural sector 1. The majority of the working population are involved in the tertiary or services sector of the economy While most of the Swiss economic practices have been brought largely into conformity with the European Union 's policies, some trade protectionism remains, particularly for the small agricultural sector.

Switzerland is a leading exporter of high-end watches and clocks. Swiss companies produce most of the world's high-end watches: China exported the highest number of watches by far in Switzerland has one of the most competitive pharmaceutical industry in the world.

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Major swiss pharma companies include Novartis and Roche. Switzerland also has an extensive industrial sector, with globally competitive companies in various industrial sectors. LafargeHolcim is the largest construction materials group in the world. Switzerland is extremely protective of its agricultural industry. Protectionism acts to promote domestic production, but not to reduce prices or the cost of production, and there is no guarantee the increased domestic production is actually consumed internally; it may simply be exported, to the profit of the producers.

The first reform in agricultural policies was in Among other changes, since Switzerland has linked the attribution of farm subsidies with the strict observance of good environmental practice. Before farmers can apply for subsidies, they must obtain certificates of environmental management systems EMS proving that they: But the number of organic farms increased by 3.

According to the World Factbook numbers, Switzerland is the 20th largest exporter and the 18th largest importer. Switzerland's largest trading partner is Germany. The United States was the second largest destination of exports 9. Switzerland's neighbors made up next largest group; Italy was third for exports 8.

Major non-European trading partners included; Japan seventh for exports with 3. As a first world country with a skilled labor force, the majority of Swiss exports are precision or 'high tech' finished products. Switzerland's largest specific SITC categories of exports include; medicaments , glycosides and vaccines, watches, orthopaedic appliances and precious jewellery.

Some raw ores or metals are exported, but the majority of the exports in this category are finished jewellery or other finished products. Agricultural products that Switzerland is famous for, such as cheese 0.

Switzerland's main imports include; medicaments , cars, precious jewellery and other unclassified transactions. While Switzerland has a long tradition of manufacturing cars, [44] there are currently no large-scale assembly line automobile manufacturers in the country. Switzerland has highly developed tourism infrastructure, especially in the mountainous regions and cities, making it a good market for tourism-related equipment and services.

The ratio of lodging nights in relation to resident population "tourism intensity", a measure for the relative importance of tourism to local economy was largest in Grisons 8. The total financial volume associated with tourism, including transportation, is estimated to CHF