The savings measures of private households currently exceed the limited financing needs of companies around the world, and the difference is reflected in an increase in sovereign debt. In the EU, over the last two and a half decades non-financial corporations recorded funding surpluses in one...

Happiness is increasingly named as a target of policy measures. Apart from the confusing fact that the attention-grabbing catchword ‘happiness’ refers to ‘life satisfaction’ in most cases, this approach appears preferable to alternatives as utility functions, magic...

Public discussion and the media have put the global debt crisis right at the centre of attention. The discussion, however, is unduly focussed on public indebtedness as the dominating cause. As a consequence, the appropriate remedy is seen in restricting public expenditure. Yet this ignores...

The Queen's question "Why did no one see it coming" provoked professional economists as well. A fierce discussion arose how to modify and improve theory and models. A survey of the literature reveals that almost a hundred analyses warned against the instability of several mechanism, be it...

The economic crisis has had a negative effect on the state of the public budgets. Consolidation measures and the slow recovery of the economy will continue to influence the budget until 2014. However, an increase in public spending on innovation and education is possible in principle, despite...

The traditional debate on the real and financial consequences of ageing is based on two assumptions: a deteriorating old-age dependency ratio and declining productivity of an ageing population. Both suppositions are questionable. Relevant for the future burden is not the old-age dependency ratio...

WIFO in general and Karl Aiginger in particular were among the first to point out that in highly developed industrial countries prices and costs are just one of many (and usually not even the most important) elements of competitiveness; in this case applying business management insights to...

Die Lebenszufriedenheit der Österreicher ist bisher durch die Finanzkrise (fast) nicht beeinträchtigt worden. Das bedeutet nicht, dass man die Krise hierzulande ignoriert: Die Einschätzung der internationalen Wirtschaftslage durch die Österreicher und ihre Erwartungen reagierten sehr wohl...