Switzerland

Aid

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GNI adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively uncorrupt recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.

• Score: 4.8
• Rank: 7

• High net aid volume as a share of the economy (0.43%; rank: 5)
• Small share of tied or partially tied aid (3%; rank: 5)
• Large amount of private charitable giving attributable to tax policy (rank as a share of GNI: 5)
• Selectivity: large share of aid to poor recipients with relatively democratic governments (rank: 7)

• Allows project proliferation; small average project size (rank: 19)

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.

• Score: 3.1
• Rank: 19

• Low barriers against textiles (rank: 3)
• Low barriers against apparel (rank: 2)

• High protection of agricultural commodities (rank: 19)
• High tariffs on agriculture (rank: 19)

Investment

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support healthy investment in developing countries.

Switzerland Overall

• Score: 7.2
• Rank: 5

• Does not provide official insurance against political risk to inefficient, import-substituting projects
• Employs tax treaties to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad
• Participates fully in the Kimberley Initiative on blood diamonds
• Provides official support for design of securities regulations and institutions in developing countries
• Provides official support for outflows of portfolio investment

• Limits official insurance against political risk to domestically owned firms
• Does not allow domestic investors to take advantage of developing country tax incentives

Migration

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return.

• Score: 9.5
• Rank: 2

• Large increase during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants living in Switzerland (rank by share of population: 1)
• Large number of immigrants from developing countries entering Switzerland in 2005 (rank by share of population: 8)
• Bears large share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises (rank: 4)

• Small share of foreign students from developing countries (37%; rank: 20)
• Tuition for foreign students higher than for nationals

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.

• Score: 5.3
• Rank: 14

• Low greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 1)
• Low consumption of ozone-depleting substances per person (rank:1)
• No fishing subsidies (rank: 1)

• Small decrease in greenhouse gas emission rate ta between 1999-2003 (average annual growth rate/PPP GDP, -1.2%; rank: 14)
• Only a small decrease in greenhouse gas emissions rate in 1994–2004 (average annual growth rate/PPP GDP, –1.5%; rank: 13)
• Low gas taxes (rank: 16)
• No ratification of UN Fisheries Agreement
• Large number of endangered species imports (rank: 19)

Security

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

• Score: 1.6
• Rank: 19

• Small financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions (overall contribution rank over last 10 years by share of GDP: 20)
• No protection of global sea lanes
• Arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments (rank by share of GDP: 16))

Technology

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

• Score: 5.1
• Rank: 10

• High government expenditure on R&D (rank by share of GDP: 8)
• Small share of government R&D expenditure on defense (0.5%; rank: 4)

• Low tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 17)
• Offers patent-like proprietary rights to developers of data compilations, including those assembled from data in the public domain