The financial crisis is receding – what will the future bring?

December 15, 2009
Centro di Studi Bancari, Vezia

Summary

After the financial crisis, the global economy will enter a phase of weak economic growth. Unemployment levels in the industrialised countries will be comparatively high. Public finances in these countries have been heavily depleted, both by the crisis and by the needs arising from the ageing of their populations, and will need to be consolidated. In monetary terms, inflation will remain under control, at least in those countries whose central banks enjoy a strong level of independence.

Switzerland is comparatively well equipped to meet these challenges. Its public finances are in a healthy state and it is sufficiently open to the world to participate in its most dynamic markets. With its tradition of high quality and cutting-edge technology, Switzerland is well positioned to react to specific market requirements. Moreover, it can draw on considerable financial resources and, thanks to the openness of its labour market, also has easy access to labour resources, without which growth would not be possible. Switzerland’s only major drawback is the fact that it is a lightweight in the geopolitical arena, which makes it almost impossible for it to defend itself against protectionist tendencies and discriminatory measures taken by big countries.

The Swiss government must therefore take a strong stand on behalf of free trade, while also ensuring that the private sector operates within the best possible framework for its further development. Ultimately, our future welfare depends on the vitality of the private sector, not on any state intervention.

Download file now

The file can be downloaded with the button below.

Additional files

Related content

Author(s)

  • Jean-Pierre Roth
    Chairman of the Governing Board

Your settings

Required: These cookies (e.g. for storing your IP address) cannot be rejected as they are necessary to ensure the operation of the website. These data are not evaluated further.
Analytics: If you consent to this category, data such as IP address, location, device information, browser version and site visitor behaviour will be collected. These data are evaluated for the SNB's internal purposes and are kept for two years.
Third-party: If you consent to this category, third-party services (used, for example, to add social multimedia content to the SNB's website) will be activated which collect personal data, process these data, disclose them abroad - worldwide - and place cookies. The relevant data protection regulations are linked in the 'Privacy statement for the website of the Swiss National Bank'.

Choose your preferred settings:

This website uses cookies, analytics tools and other technologies to provide requested features, content and services, to personalise the content shown, to provide links to social media, and to analyse the use of the website in anonymised form for the purposes of improving usability. Personal data are also disclosed abroad - worldwide - to video service providers and the analytics tools of these providers are used. More information is available under 'Manage settings'.