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Swiss Trade During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Early Appraisal

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  • Konstantin B chel, Stefan Legge, Vincent Pochon, Philipp Wegm ller

Abstract

This study uses trade data from Switzerland's Federal Customs Administration to examine the impact of COVID-19 on international goods trade between January and July 2020. We show that Swiss trade during that period fell by 11% compared to 2019, and that the contraction following the Federal Lockdown in mid-March was considerably steeper than the Swiss trade collapse in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in September 2008. Exploiting country variation in the spread of COVID-19, the stringency of containment measures, and Swiss trade flows, we document that the pandemic adversely affected both the demand and supply side of foreign trade. We discuss several channels at work and show that our COVID-19 measures are correlated with country-specific consumer and producer confidence series, which explain considerable heterogeneity in the observed trade dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Konstantin B chel, Stefan Legge, Vincent Pochon, Philipp Wegm ller, 2020. "Swiss Trade During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Early Appraisal," Diskussionsschriften credresearchpaper30, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft - CRED.
    • Handle: RePEc:rdv:wpaper:credresearchpaper30
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Goller & Stefan C. Wolter, 2021. "“Too shocked to search” The COVID-19 shutdowns’ impact on the search for apprenticeships," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 157(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. de Lucio, Juan & Mínguez, Raúl & Minondo, Asier & Requena, Francisco, 2022. "Impact of Covid-19 containment measures on trade," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 766-778.
    3. Abdullah Altun & Pinar Tat & Halit Yanikkaya, 2023. "The Role of Covid-19 Policy Responses on GVC Participation: The Turkish Experience," Working Papers 2023-01, Gebze Technical University, Department of Economics.
    4. Alexandre Olbrecht, 2021. "Human Suffering and Natural Experiments: How Empirical Economics can unmask the devastation of Covid-19," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 461-463, October.
    5. Taeil Kim & Sunghwa Park & Hanna Kim & Janghan Kwon, 2023. "Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on International Trade: Cases of Major Countries Using the SUR Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Anamaria Diana Sova & Robert Sova, 2022. "The Covid-19 Pandemic and European Trade Flows: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Model," CESifo Working Paper Series 9848, CESifo.
    7. Oleksandr SHNYRKOV & Oleksii CHUGAIEV, 2020. "Resilience Of The Eu Exports To Ukraine Under The Covid-19 Pandemic," EURINT, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 7, pages 80-100.
    8. Wegmüller, Philipp & Glocker, Christian & Guggia, Valentino, 2023. "Weekly economic activity: Measurement and informational content," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 228-243.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Trade; Switzerland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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