Switzerland's Rise to a Wealthy Nation: Competition and Contestability as Key Success Factors

Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Rolf Weder

No RP2009-25, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: This paper argues that economic competition and political contestability are two key determinants of the successful development of the Swiss economy in the nineteenth and twentieth century. We describe how Switzerland evolved from a relatively poor country with no natural resources and net emigration in 1800 to one of the richest countries of the world two hundred years later. Based on quantitative and qualitative evidence, we argue that early internationalization, open and flexible markets as well as a high degree of competition were crucial for the development of the Swiss economy.

Keywords: Competition; Democracy; Economic development; History of economics; Institutional economics; International trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unu:wpaper:rp2009-25

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