The temptation to pursue an industrial policy hangs over Switzerland. Yet recent economic history, from the watchmaking industry to the Lucens nuclear reactor fiasco, shows that state intervention weakens rather than strengthens the national economy.
Protectionism is often denounced as the natural enemy of prosperity, and lends itself to caricature. When...
American tariffs symbolize the resurgence of mercantilism. Imperial withdrawal, scarcity of resources, militarized trade: with the end of free trade, the global economy is reverting to its old reflexes. A zero-sum game in which all lose, except those who dictate the rules.
The economic success of the West was made possible by the valorization of bourgeois virtues and freedom. They were ignited in 1848. Switzerland is a perfect example.
Economics is a language of models and equations. Yet its foundations are philosophical. Giving heterodox currents back their rightful place means restoring the vitality and pluralism of this discipline - and thus its link with liberalism.
La libre immigration en provenance de l'UE augmente certes la performance économique, mais elle a de graves effets secondaires négligés. Elle devient ainsi le moteur d'une transformation illibérale de la Suisse.
The founders of Lucerne's Institute for Economic Policy (IWP) were awarded the Bonny Foundation's Freedom Prize 2025 on Thursday in Berne. The Foundation praised the contribution of these two «intellectual entrepreneurs» to debate and knowledge.
I had come to celebrate my thirtieth birthday in the city of carnival. But behind the gondolas, I discovered an ancient republic built on water, order and trade. A precursor of free trade, more relevant than ever at a time of protectionist retreats.
According to Mark Schelker, the Swiss Confederation lacks key tax data. The economist calls for secure centralization of information to better predict the effects of tax reforms, such as the Young Socialists' initiative on inheritance.
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