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...

In 2013, the cash-flow-to-sales ratio of the Austrian manufacturing sector reached an estimated 9.0 percent, a value significantly below the long-run average of 9.6 percent. The persistently muted performance of the manufacturing sector has affected the cash-flow-to-sales ratio, which declined...

In response to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has so far led to the Crimea being annexed by Russia, the USA and EU have introducted sanctions against individuals by way of refusing their entry and blocking their bank accounts and are threatening to increase the circle of those...

In response to poor cyclical prospects and low inflationary expectations, the ECB introduces non-standard purchasing programmes and adds securities of higher risk to its assets. Jean-Claude Juncker is confirmed President of the European Commission by the European Parliament. The European Council...

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...

The European Central Bank starts to purchase government bonds of euro-zone countries; the Expanded Asset Purchase Programme (EAPP) is intended to increase liquidity in order to ward off the risks of a prolonged low inflation phase. Greece requires more financial aid. The sanctions imposed by the...