Ist die direkte Demokratie mitschuldig an der wirtschaftlichen Stagnation der Schweiz?

In: Swiss political science review: SPSR = Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft = Revue suisse de science politique, Band 11, Heft 3, S. 150-156

Abstract

Of three possible causes for the economic stagnation of Switzerland, economic policies & the public decisions wrought by direct democracy are the primary suspects, although statistical evidence has demonstrated that direct democracy on the canton level leads to increased growth & a generally more positive economic outlook, raising the question of how direct democracy can exert a negative influence on economic policy at a national level. While direct democracy is said to lead to decisions that reflect the preferences of the citizens better than parliamentary decisions, the difficulty of aggregating individual preferences into fair & consistent social preferences is often overlooked. In addition, the basis for decision favors the status-quo, which is not automatically negative, but can have negative effects when there are complex problems such as the current economic situation that require urgent solutions. Deep reaching reforms are difficult to implement in such instances, where increased participation leads to restricted governance. The structure & weakness of the Swiss government & parliament add to this difficulty. References. L. Reed