In this talk, Guillaume Vallet (University of Grenoble Alpes) will present his research on “Swiss Capitalism: A Historical Perspective.”
The objective of this presentation is to shed light on the main features of the Swiss capitalism. To that aim, resting on a historical perspective, he investigates the institutional roots of Swiss capitalism, which proved to be instrumental in the successful development of the country. Specifically, he examines the period covering the official political creation of Switzerland (1848) to today. He insists on the organized dimension of the Swiss capitalism, emphasizing the efficient links between public and private actors. The arrangements successfully built between these actors have participated in stabilizing the domestic internal forces, which is critical for a small-open economy such as Switzerland. In other words, he points out that these arrangements have enabled Switzerland to successfully deal with the production of essential public goods supporting both industrialization and national social bonds required to promote political unity. However, he also emphasizes the challenges Switzerland regularly face to maintain these arrangements, including the recent period characterized by strong exchange rates movements.