Switzerland

A tale of two countries

We have a choice in New Zealand if we are satisfied with our status quo and content to keep fighting the same old political battles for the next decades. Alternatively, we could break out of our old ways and try something radically new. [...]

Swiss success: Small is beautiful

If Prime Minister John Key really wanted to turn New Zealand into the Switzerland of the South Pacific, this is what he should do. [...]

Why policymakers should watch the Swiss

If our politicians were looking for a radically different way of delivering good government, they could do much worse than watch the Swiss. [...]

Lernen von Schweiz und Schwyz

Aus schweizerischer Sicht kann man sich wohl kaum vorstellen, wie faszinierend, spannend und attraktiv die kleinteilige politische Gliederung des Landes in der Aussensicht erscheint – und dass man sich im Ausland durchaus für die Arbeit der Schweizer Kantone und Gemeinden interessieren, ja begeistern kann. [...]

Learning from Switzerland and Schwyz

From a Swiss point of view, it must be hard to imagine how fascinating, thrilling and attractive the small-scale political structure of the country appears from the outside – and that foreigners looking at Switzerland may find the workings of Swiss cantons and councils interesting or even inspiring. [...]

The euro’s path to junk status

Europe’s central bank has manoeuvred itself into a hole and the introduction of quantitative easing shows that it won’t stop digging. At least the Swiss National Bank got out before being dragged down any further. [...]

Will the Swiss drive up gold prices?

If you are a gold bug, and if you think the majority of the Swiss are too, you might want to consider adding some of the yellow stuff to your portfolio. But be careful – even in Switzerland, referenda can result in surprises, and not every opinion poll that glitters is gold. [...]

A Swiss crevasse for EU relations

The EU always had a strange relationship with democracy, not least because it does not always generate the results EU officials would like to see. The Swiss referendum is a case in point. [...]

A housing market whodunit

The strong link between local government finance and housing development fully explains why German and Swiss house prices have been steady for decades. To say it with Sherlock Holmes, improbable as it seems "all other explanations are more improbable still". If Australians really cared for making housing more affordable in the long run, they should be studying the German and Swiss experiences more closely. [...]

Where Europe’s smart money hides

The enormous Swiss currency reserves are a direct result of the euro crisis as the SNB is fighting an uphill battle to stabilise the Swiss Franc against the weakening euro. Switzerland’s central bank soaks up euros and sells off francs on a massive scale. [...]