Expenditure on R&D encompasses much of those resources which are used more or less like an investment into the future and spent with a view to obtaining and securing competitive advantages. During the 1990s, Austria made a serious effort to catch up: From 1.39 percent of GDP in 1990, spending on...

Throughout 2001, economic growth in the USA, Japan and the European Union was clearly losing momentum. In line with this development, Austria also recorded a marked slow-down in its pace of economic growth. While the economy had still been growing at a rate of 3 percent in 2000, macroeconomic...

In the OECD countries, the recovery from the slump of 2001 was slow and painful. According to preliminary figures, these countries managed a growth in GDP of 1.3 percent in 2002, compared to 0.8 percent in 2001. In view of the geopolitical vagaries of the second half of 2002, demand for...