In January 2003, the EU Commission published details of the proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. Core elements of this reform are the reduction of intervention prices (for grain and milk) and the decoupling of direct payments from production. Several countries (including Austria)...

Throughout 2001, economic growth in the USA, Japan and the European Union was clearly losing momentum. In line with this development, Austria also recorded a marked slow-down in its pace of economic growth. While the economy had still been growing at a rate of 3 percent in 2000, macroeconomic...

In the OECD countries, the recovery from the slump of 2001 was slow and painful. According to preliminary figures, these countries managed a growth in GDP of 1.3 percent in 2002, compared to 0.8 percent in 2001. In view of the geopolitical vagaries of the second half of 2002, demand for...

Consistent with proposals provided by the OECD, the practice of linking the Common Agricultural Policy with agricultural production was abandoned after the 2003 reform. Another substantial change was expected from the 2013 reform. In line with the OECD principle, the provision of public goods...