Non-wage labour costs are relatively high in Austria. This is due, above all, to the level of employer contributions to social security, payroll-dependent charges, and the extent of non-productive times. If – in the interest of logical coherence – bonus payments (13th and 14th monthly...

In February 2000, the Austrian Federal Government set itself the target of achieving a balanced budget by 2002. A domestic stability pact was agreed that specified the budget performance to be achieved by the central, regional and local authorities. To this end, a comprehensive consolidation...

In a Working Agreement, the new coalition government proposes a set of measures designed to contain public spending, reduce deficits, and stabilize public debt over the medium term. This article sets out to quantify the measures envisaged and, using the WIFO econometric model, to assess their...