Small Advanced Economies’ Success Factors: Insights from Switzerland

UCOL is proud to have partnered with the Palmerston North Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) last week in hosting His Excellency, Mr Viktor Vavricka, Ambassador of Switzerland to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu to share how Switzerland, a small yet advanced economy, has leveraged focused strategies to drive innovation and sustainable growth.

In covering what New Zealand could learn from Switzerland, one of the world’s most innovative economies in leading the way in high-value industries, His Excellency shared the reasons around why he believed that Switzerland was so innovative, which included a highly educated population, a strong democracy (which they advocate for – and have 2,200 different local governments), a strong legal system and strong investment into research and development, with good collaboration between universities, research institutes, and industry.

He noted that the decentralisation of government, along with the expectation and ability for everyone to vote, played an important role in the Swiss economy. The Swiss tax system is also decentralised, with only 30% of the collection going to the Federal level. This means the money stays where it is levied with a high amount of localism - which our current Prime Minister noted was a great model when he visited Switzerland in 2017.

Following the keynote presentation, Mr Vavricka was joined by Mark Oldershaw, Executive Director for Te Pūkenga, and Jerry Shearman, CEO of CEDA, for a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Scott Haumaha (CEO of SME Collective).

Throughout the discussion, they pointed out that Aotearoa had quite a few similarities, but our isolation and low population density can be a disadvantage. Mr Vavricka also highlighted that we share a similar set of values, emphasised by the fact that Switzerland is number one and Aotearoa is number two in the world for the human freedom index (2023).

Mr Oldershaw talked about the context around New Zealand’s vocational education sector and its importance to New Zealand (including some limitations), while Mr Shearman noted the importance of long-term planning to have a stable workforce. He also highlighted the importance of the local economy, and its importance to New Zealand.

Who is NZIIA and what do they do?

New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Palmerston North, has a focus on connecting the Palmerston North community with a deeper understanding of global matters. They are dedicated to igniting insightful conversations around pressing issues, spanning climate change, sustainable agriculture and the dairy industry, peace and security, human rights, refugees and migrants, indigenous cultures, geopolitics, nationalism and internationalism.