Les défis pour la politique économique extérieure suisse dans le nouveau contexte économique mondial

This article proposes first to "revisit" the traditional trade theory in order to develop a new dynamic conceptual approach for today's world economy upon which the Swiss foreign economic policy principles could be based. World trade is analysed in terms of relative attractiveness of nations. This relative attractiveness of nations is based on a combination of natural assets and of created assets with an increasing created-to-natural assets ratio. The second part deals with the theory of international production and the theory of the international investment development path in order to identify actions to be undertaken domestically with a view to promote the productivity and competitiveness of the firms and resources in Switzerland. Finally, the third part proposes a strategic global and networking approach in order to face the challenges occuring at the regional, inter-regional and multilateral level.