Quantifying the Swiss Custom Strategy and Its Impact on Economic Development from 1870 to 1913

Abstract: The late 19th century witnessed a remarkable surge in globalization, resulting in a substantial flow of goods, labour, and capital across national and continental borders. Switzerland, despite its limited domestic market and resource constraints, capitalized on this era of globalization and transformed itself from a relatively impoverished agrarian state to one of the world's wealthiest nations. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Switzerland's custom strategy from 1870 until 1913, focusing on specific industries and products. By examining the evolution of protectionist policies, analysing employment patterns, real value-added, and labour productivity, this study aims to reconcile the quantitative findings and discuss the suitability of Switzerland's customs strategy in the context of economic development and industrialization. The research findings indicate that Switzerland employed a nuanced system of protection, striking a delicate balance between preserving employment, promoting productivity, and fostering overall economic growth. Additionally, the Swiss approach to protection exhibited peculiarities within the European context, such as low tariff protection for crude metallurgy and cereals, while placing significant emphasis on safeguarding livestock products.