Austrian Institute for Economic Research

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Austrian Institute for Economic Research
(WIFO)
purpose Economic research
Chair: Christoph Badelt
Establishment date: 1927 ( Friedrich August von Hayek , Ludwig von Mises )
Seat : Arsenal Objekt 20, Vienna 3 , Austria
Website: www.wifo.ac.at

The Austrian Institute of Economic Research ( WIFO ) is a club organized economic research institute based in Vienna (on the grounds of Arsenal ).

WIFO has an annual budget of 12.5 million euros (as of 2014), making it the largest Austrian think tank. Other Austrian think tanks are the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) (9.3 million euros), the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies , Agenda Austria (1.2 million euros) and EcoAustria (500,000 euros).

Goals and tasks

WIFO headquarters in Vienna's Arsenal

The declared purpose is the "analysis of Austrian and international economic development". With its analyzes, the institute tries to contribute to the foundation and objectification of the economic policy discussion. As an independent research institute with an empirical focus, it deals with Austrian and increasingly also with European economic policy . WIFO is known for its short and medium-term economic forecasts.

Organization and structure

The legal form is an association. Funding is secured through membership fees from the institutional sponsors (including members of the Austrian social partnership ), companies and private individuals. Public funding supports basic research. From 2005 the institute was headed by Karl Aiginger , on September 1, 2016 Christoph Badelt succeeded him as head of WIFO. Around 100 people are currently employed.

History of the institute

WIFO was founded in 1927 as the “Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research” by Friedrich August von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, following the example of Ernst Wagemann's Berlin-based Institute for Business Cycle Research. At this time Alexander Gerschenkron was also working at the institute. As Oskar Morgenstern's successor, Reinhard Kamitz was director from 1936 to 1939 , and he was also incorporated into Wagemann's institute in 1938. The institute was initially renamed the “Vienna Institute for Economic Research” and later the “Vienna Institute for Economic Research”.

After the war, the institute was brought back to life by Franz Nemschak under the name “Austrian Institute for Economic Research” . He was followed as directors by Hans Seidel , Helmut Kramer and Karl Aiginger (2005–2016). In February 2016 it was announced that Christoph Badelt would succeed Karl Aiginger in this role in September 2016.

In 2018, Harald Mahrer succeeded Christoph Leitl as President of the Economic Research Institute, Renate Anderl succeeded Rudolf Kaske as Vice President.

Research at WIFO

Applied economic research is the core area of ​​the association's work. The activities are divided into five research areas:

  1. Macroeconomics and European Economic Policy
  2. Labor market, income and social security
  3. Industrial economy, innovation and international competition
  4. Structural change and regional development
  5. Environment, Agriculture and Energy

The founders, Ludwig von Mises and the later Nobel Prize laureate Friedrich von Hayek, are considered to be leading representatives of the Austrian school of economics. After the war, Keynesianism prevailed in the macroeconomic analysis at WIFO . The close contact between WIFO and politics was evident during this time. B. in the fact that the former head Hans Seidel was appointed to the government as State Secretary in 1981.

Today a variety of methods and theoretical approaches shape the work in the research areas. What they have in common is their focus on applied empirical and economic policy issues and a proactive understanding of politics regarding the role of the state in a market economy with open borders and increasing globalization . The WIFO has an advisory role and sees itself as a bridge between economic theory , empiricism and politics. In addition to growth and income, the economic goals also include other elements of a welfare function , as is shown in the discussion that questions gross domestic product as the sole measure of welfare. Research on Eastern Europe was a focus of WIFO early on. It became an independent research institution in the 1970s: the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW).

The increased positioning on the international market is evident from the involvement of WIFO in international scientific activities:

  • The institute has been involved in drawing up the joint diagnosis since 2007 .
  • The institute is a member of the European Economic Research and Advisory Consortium (ERECO) with partner institutes in Birmingham, Bologna, Cambridge, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rotterdam.
  • Since the end of the nineties a. a. the analytical basis of the competition reports of the European Commission .
  • The WIFO is the coordinator of the project “A new growth path for Europe - WWWforEurope” which is supposed to represent the scientific support of the Europe 2020 strategy within the framework of the 7th framework program.
  • WIFO is a member of the Euroframe research community and also prepares forecasts and analyzes for Germany.

people

Web links

Organizations

Publication organs and dates

Projects

  • Details on the research project WWWforEurope in CORDIS

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ format.at - The opinion makers' sponsors ( Memento from February 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). Article dated December 5, 2014, accessed February 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ See Reichmann, W., 2010, The disciplining of economic change: Sociological analyzes of economic research in Austria. Metropolis, Weimar near Marburg. ISBN 3-89518-786-0 .
  3. ↑ Christoph Badelt takes office as the new WIFO director . Press release dated August 31, 2016, accessed September 2, 2016.
  4. ↑ See DIW Berlin ( German Institute for Economic Research )
  5. ↑ See the editorial of the monthly reports of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research from April 1938 ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.0 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wifo.ac.at
  6. ↑ See monthly report of the Vienna Institute for Economic and Economic Research from September 1938 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 820 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wifo.ac.at
  7. ↑ See monthly report of the Vienna Institute for Economic Research from May 1940 ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.2 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wifo.ac.at
  8. ↑ See monthly reports of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research, issue no. 1/2 of the XVIII. Volume ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 820 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wifo.ac.at
  9. ↑ derStandard.at - Christoph Badelt becomes WIFO director . Article dated February 23, 2016, accessed February 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ orf.at: WIFO: Mahrer now instead of Leitl President . Article dated July 3, 2018.
  11. ↑ Research areas of WIFO ( Memento from October 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ See Aiginger, K., 2000, Europe's position in quality Competition (PDF; 331 kB), European Commission, Enterprise Directorate-General, Enterprise DG Working Paper, Brussels
  13. ↑ See press release on the WWWforEurope project of February 28, 2012.

Coordinates: 48 ° 10 '53.7 "  N , 16 ° 23' 23.8"  E