Comment Re:Swiss's NSA analog? (Score 1) 131
This would be an interesting explanation of the economic success of Switzerland if it didn't contradict the facts such as: 1. Switzerland is *not* sourrounded by EFTA members (in fact, Switzerland is sorrounded exclusively by countries that are not members of EFTA) and 2. Switzerland *is* one of the four members of EFTA. Actually EFTA was established as an alternative to the EEC which since then has become the EU. See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Free_Trade_Association.
Also, Switzerland, although not a member of the EU, has strong ties to the EU. For example, it is a member of the Schengen area, thus there are no border controls between Switzerland and neighboring (EU-member) countries. While proposals to formally join the EU have been rejected by Swiss voters, most of EU law has been adopted by Switzerland through bilateral treaties, thus Switzerland behaves like an EEA member for most practical purposes.
I think you will have to look for other reasons to explain the outstanding performance of the Swiss economy. By the way, the GDP per capita (PPP) of Switzerland is $44,864 according to the IMF. Countries with GDP per capita (PPP) over $40,000 include Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden, all EU members. So it doesn't seem to be the case that "the GDP there is double anywhere else in the rest of Europe". (Actually Norway, a non-EU EEA member, has higher GDP per capita than Switzerland.)