160 Years of aggregate supply and demand in Switzerland

Abstract

This paper studies the causes of movements in inflation and output in Switzerland over 160 years between 1855 and 2015. Aggregate supply and demand shocks are identified in a structural VAR, and their evolution and effect on prices and output are discussed. Shocks to the Swiss economy have generally, although not uniformly, declined in magnitude over the sample period. The World Wars, the deflation of the 1920s and the Great Depression represented much larger shocks than either of 1970s break-up of Bretton Woods and move to floating exchange rates or the Global Financial Crisis.