Investment Aid Act

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Basic data
Title: Federal law on
investment aid for mountain areas
Abbreviation: IHG
Type: Federal law
Scope: Switzerland
Legal matter: Regional policy
Systematic
legal collection (SR) :		 901.1
Original version from: March 21, 1997
Entry into force on: January 1, 1998
Last change by: AS 2006 2359 (PDF; 482 kB)
Expiry: January 1, 2008
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Investment Aid Act ( IHG ) (also known as the Investment Aid Fund) was a Swiss federal law to promote infrastructure tasks in financially weak communities in mountain areas. The 54 IHG regions were limited to the Alps , Pre-Alps and Jura and comprised 1222 municipalities (as of 2000). It was an example of the federal subsidiarity and solidarity principle . With the entry into force of the New Regional Policy (NRP), the IHG was repealed on January 1, 2008.

Financing model

From 1974 to 2008, the federal government and the cantons made regular contributions to a fund with capital of around 1.5 billion Swiss francs. Most of the fund was loaned to mountain communities in the form of long-term (30 years) repayable, mostly interest-free loans. Almost all of the loans were repaid.

The IHG fund will be continued under the new regional policy (NRP) under the name “Fund for Regional Development” and will form the financing vehicle for all regional policy measures of the federal government.

Projects supported

Since 1974, fund loans of around CHF 3 billion have supported over 8,000 projects, which means that the fund has been implemented almost three times. In terms of helping people to help themselves, only part of the total project costs are covered by fund loans. With this federal aid, their own funds and sponsorship contributions ( Swiss sponsorship for mountain communities ), the mountain communities were able to make investments totaling around 19 billion francs.

Evaluation of target achievement

The evaluation of the investment aid for mountain areas IHG by the University of St. Gallen and the CEAT Lausanne in 2004 showed that the goal set by the legislature in 1974 of strengthening the small mountain communities and maintaining decentralized settlement in the mountain regions was largely achieved. The living conditions and the residential and location attractiveness have improved. The unemployment rate is mentioned as an indicator. In the municipalities supported with IHG funds, this is below the national average. Economic growth is slower than in the Central Plateau, but bankruptcies are less common.

modification

As part of the new regional policy, the fund was rebuilt based on the so-called “EU money pots” and is now called “Fund for Regional Development”. The IHG fund money was transferred to the “Fund for Regional Development” and invested in stocks and bonds. Interest and dividends are used for the à fonds perdu subsidization of companies based on economic criteria. Critics of this reorganization pointed out the danger that companies could get used to the subsidies and that such financing models are susceptible to corruption.

literature

  • Explanatory report on the draft Federal Law on Regional Policy (2004)
  • Federal Act of March 21, 1997 on Investment Aid for Mountain Areas (IHG)
  • Evaluation of the investment aid for mountain areas IHG , University of St. Gallen and CEAT Lausanne, October 15, 2004

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regional Policy 1970–2007: Investment Aid Act (IHG) ( Memento from May 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Fund for regional development ( Memento from March 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Federal decree on further deposits in the regional development fund of September 26, 2007
  4. ↑ Consultation response to the Federal Law on Regional Policy by Travail.Suisse ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )