Suchergebnisse

An interdisciplinary literature suggests that institutional environment features are significant determinants in the location of foreign direct investment. Weak institutional environment features are considered to have a negative effect on capital inflows. Conversely, empirical studies have found that investors locate in host countries providing high rates of return despite weak institutional environment features. Switzerland is home to some of the most important global investors and one of Europe's largest global investors. Swiss foreign direct investment is an interesting case to examine since it has been nurtured in a well-established institutional environment. In this paper, we evaluate Swiss foreign direct investment located in 56 countries over the period 2005-2009 using statistical and machine learning techniques. From our analysis two models emerge suggesting that Swiss investment favours countries with high political stability and high accountability. However, we also find that Swiss investment does not necessarily discriminate against countries with weak institutional environments.

This paper examines the impact of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on Swiss foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. It also investigates the role of BITs as protective tools of Swiss investment. This paper is based on secondary data analysis; data is obtained from various official entities. This study uses statistical and machine learning techniques in order to detect meaningful relationships between BITs and FDI flows. Our findings suggest that the implementation of BITs have an insignificant impact on the increase of Swiss FDI flows. However, from our examination, two interesting findings have emerged suggesting that the completion of BITs may have an impact on the increase of political stability and role of law of host countries.

A sudden change in monetary policy happened in Switzerland on January 15th, 2015. The Swiss National Bank removed a lower exchange rate bound vis-à-vis the Euro. This unexpected change of regime induced a temporary uncertainty about future prices in foreign markets. We believe that this hampers firm investment in the short term. Using this change in monetary policy as a natural experiment and exploiting the continuous nature of a micro-level business tendency survey, we identify the source of uncertainty and disentangle first and second moment effects. We find that price uncertainty affects investment in equipment and machinery through real option effects and believe that growth option effects positively influences expenditures in research and development. We show that focusing on aggregate gross fixed capital formation masks important insights and suggest the use of disaggregated investment data to deepen our knowledge on the relationship between uncertainty and investment.

We analysed the adjustment phase following a dairy shed investment. On the basis of farm observations from both the Swiss Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and a database of government-supported investments from 2003 through 2014, we focused on the imputed profit, the farm income minus opportunity costs for family labour and family capital. After investment, the analysed farms needed three years to return to the same profit level as that before the investment (median value). A Cox proportional-hazards model (survival analysis) showed that the probability of reattaining the imputed profit increased with equity capital. A reduction of the probability was related to a high imputed profit, a high off-farm income, high expenses for purchased animals and, in particular, a greater use of family labour before the investment. We conclude that the use of family labour after investment should be addressed more thoroughly during the planning process prior to an investment.

AbstractThis contribution explains how a specific constellation of Swiss consulting experts, financial advisors, and diplomats became involved in the economic restructuring of eastern Germany after November 1989. Swiss engagements reveal that capital did not merely "flow" across unifying Germany's borders, as economists' definitions of foreign direct investment suggest. Rather, facilitators within and especially beyond Germany actively promoted investments. Business involving foreigners was often grounded in socialist-era trade activities that united profit seekers from East and West Germany, Switzerland, and other nations. As foreign engagements in unifying Germany's economy illustrate, mediators mattered. Pasts persisted. Debt and investment were intertwined. The course of public divesture and state-sponsored private investment in post-Wall Germany suggests future scholars pay closer attention to individuals and entities engaged in exchanging market information, not so much within individual nations as between them.