The last decade has been characterised by a tightening of IPR regulations worldwide. The premise underlying this trend is that the stringent regulation of IPRs enhances innovativeness. IPRs have been identified as a central aspect of EU innovation policy. The harmonisation of IPRs provides a...

The global financial crisis, which had its origins in the bursting of the real estate bubble in the USA, has affected the confidence in the functionality of the modern banking and financial system. Such a situation poses the threat of a reduction of credit supply, which can lead to an outright...

In 2009, the cash-flow-to-sales ratio in the Austrian manufacturing reached 10.0 percent, a value slightly below that of 2008 and significantly below the long-term average of 11.9 percent. In 2010, real value added in manufacturing rose by 6.9 percent. This initial recovery after the deep slump...

Austria's unit labour cost position improved thanks to the recovering economy and the related increase in productivity. Per-capita labour costs increased only slightly in manufacturing, while labour productivity per employee saw a greater rise. In general, unit labour costs in Austrian...

The economic crisis has had a negative effect on the state of the public budgets. Consolidation measures and the slow recovery of the economy will continue to influence the budget until 2014. However, an increase in public spending on innovation and education is possible in principle, despite...

In 2009 the economic crisis had a significant impact on the unit labour cost position of Austrian manufacturing. It brought about a decline of per-capita labour productivity, an increase in labour costs and, as a result, a significant increase in unit labour costs. At the same time, the...

The earning power of the Austrian manufacturing sector was considerably affected by the global economic crisis. According to the WIFO estimates using a dynamic panel econometric model the cash flow-to-sales ratio has declined by more than a third (from 11.2 percent in 2008 to 7.5 percent in...

Due to their very limited access to the capital market bank financing is of outstanding importance for small and medium-sized companies. Often, however, the latter can only barely provide the collateral corresponding to the enhanced capital requirements for financial institutions (Basel III). As...

In 2012, the recession shaped the development of unit labour costs in Austria. Labour costs in the manufacturing of goods increased by 3.2 percent, while labour productivity developed very weakly (+0.1 percent). This represents a rise in unit labour costs of about 3 percent. However, Austria's...

In 2008, Austria ranked ninth in the international labour cost hierarchy. Labour was most expensive in Norway, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden. As the Austrian economy was less affected by the global economic crisis than the economies of its trading partners, Austria's labour productivity and...