Guiding Principles and Use of Government Subsidies in the Development of the High Mountain Regions of Switzerland and Bavaria

The major contention of this paper is that the development incentive programs of German and Swiss national governments are justified if they bring about an increase in productivity and national income. However, they must also preserve the ecological environment, cultural landscape, and nature areas of the Alpine setting. A comparative study of regional development policies of Switzerland and the German State of Bavaria is used to determine how each national government allocates its regional development subsidies and the results they hope to obtain.