The intention underlying the introduction of the child care benefit was to offer parents greater freedom of choice in matters regarding child care and their participation in the labour market. However, according to the findings presented here, the new regime – so far – has led to a longer...

Women in Austria suffer a substantial loss of earnings once they have children. By the time the youngest child has grown up, the loss accumulates to between € 103,000 (one child) and € 136,000 (three or more children), provided that the woman returns to gainful employment. If, however, the...

The end of the Cold War, the increasing importance of international operations, and the development of a co-ordinated European security and defence strategy have led many countries in Europe to reform their national system of military defence – Belgium in 1994, the Netherlands in the second...

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...