Cross-border commuting and inventions "Made in Switzerland"

Over 300 000 people from neighboring countries regularly cross the border to work in Switzerland. Many of them contribute substantially to the development of new innovations by Swiss companies. At the same time, the work of cross-border commuting inventors is often not properly considered by standard innovation measures. As a result, the Swiss economy could be even more innovative than generally thought. In fact, innovative activity in Switzerland could be underestimated by around 10% for the country as a whole - and by up to 30% for some specific regions and industries.