The following study gives an overview of the current economic and social situation in Austria, with a particular focus on explaining the Austrian labour relations model and the importance of social partnership and its role in developments since the onset of the global economic crisis in...

The imbalances in bargaining power between the contracting parties in the food supply chain have drawn much attention, also from policy makers. The European Commission is committed to facilitate the restructuring of the sector by encouraging the creation of voluntary agricultural producer...

With the development towards comprehensive and more sophisticated border control regimes, the problem of protection seekers’ access to EU territory has increasingly come into focus. Disorderly movement is presently the main avenue to safety in the EU, and human smugglers act as important...

The European Commission is committed to providing factual information on past and future enlargements and to cooperating with strategic partners and multipliers to communicate with the public on enlargement. Broad public support is essential in order to sustain the enlargement process. The...

The European Commission, newly constituted after the EU elections, has been launching its work for the period of 2014-2019. The bank stress test shows that 25 of the 130 European banks tested are in a problematic situation. One of the five Austrian banks tested does not meet the requirements....

Following a cyclical downturn in 2014, the Austrian economy is set to grow at a moderate pace of 1.3 percent p.a. over the period from 2015 to 2019. Private consumption and investment will experience a sluggish growth, while the external contribution to GDP growth will remain modest. The gradual...

The WIFO Business Cycle Survey serves as an important early-indication tool for the economic situation in Austria. Using a Markov regime-switching model, it is possible to determine at an early point in time whether the business cycle is in its upward or downward mode. Regime probabilities are...