The Gulf crisis has caused new turbulence in the world oil market. Price developments in the near future will essentially depend on whether a military conflict can be avoided or not. Given this uncertainty two scenarios were elaborated: a main version with spot market prices remaining at about...

Liberalization of East-West trade since the breakdown of communism in 1989 has seen Austria as a net gainer. Its net exports with the East increased considerably, resulting in a trade surplus of ATS 16.5 billion in 1994, after years of balanced trade before 1989. Although in some sectors the...

The European Economic Area (EEA) constitutes an intermediate step on the road towards European integration. While the EEA should transfer a number of the benefits of the EC internal market to the EFTA countries, only EC membership guarantees full integration into the EC on an equal level....

The Austrian economy has been struck by the most recent business cycle downturn in Europe. At the same time, a two-year program of fiscal consolidation has been launched comprising all levels of government, with the aim of bringing down public sector borrowing to 3 percent of GDP by 1997. In the...