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...

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...

Austria's GDP grew by just 0.3 percent in 2014, making for a sluggish economy for the third year in a row. Causes for the sluggishness were not just continued investment reticence on the part of businesses and muted expenditure on the part of private households but also the lack of any strong...

Die Finanzierung durch Banken ist insbesondere für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen wegen ihres stark eingeschränkten Zugangs zum Kapitalmarkt von herausragender Bedeutung. Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen bieten aber oft nur sehr eingeschränkt die mit den verschärften...

Relative unit labour costs vis-à-vis trading partners are an important indicator of international competitiveness in the manufacturing sector. Unit labour costs are the main determinant for prices and consequently also for the competitiveness of a given sector or the economy as a whole,...

This article uses representative firm-level data for the Austrian manufacturing sector in order to analyse interactions between firm dynamics, export status and turnover productivity.

In 2008 a working hour cost Austrian manufacturers € 31.40, 12.0 percent more than the average of the other EU-15 countries. This sum is made up of a wage share of € 16.70 plus € 14.70 in non-wage labour costs. At 88 percent, the incidental costs were slightly lower than in the previous year.

In 2009 the cash flow to sales ratio in the Austrian manufacturing sector is expected to have declined significantly. Already 2008 was marked by a modest drop to 11.2 percent. For 2009 econometric estimates based on a panel of NACE 2-digit industry data indicate a cash flow to sales ratio of...

Consolidation measures will shape budgetary development until 2014. However, despite consolidation efforts reforming education and training policies as well as innovation policies is still possible and necessary. This is because these form the basis for sustainable growth. Increases in public...

The global financial crisis, which had its origin in the bursting of the real estate bubble in the USA, affected the confidence in the functionality of the modern financial system. Such a situation bears the risk that the restriction of credit supply turns into an outright credit crunch. The...