Intragovernmental transfers are an important element of the fiscal equalisation system. With respect to efficiency, the principle of fiscal equivalence or fiscal connectivity is central to the arrangement of fiscal relations between the individual levels of a federal state. Based on this...

The financial market and economic crisis has put severe strain on government budgets also in Austria. The costs of the crisis, to the extent that they can be quantified (support for banks, cyclical stimulus measures and contributions to the euro-area crisis management), have shifted the debt...

Efficient and effective fiscal equalisation is above all based on fiscal equivalence and the accountability of decision makers. This means that the public-interest orientated fulfilment of tasks based on the principle of subsidiarity can take place when the responsibilities for tasks, spending...

Bundesvoranschlag 2013: Konsolidierungspfad mit Unsicherheiten

WIFO is coordinating the integrative research project "Welfare, Wealth and Work for Europe – WWWforEurope", which is financed by the European Commission from its 7th EU Framework Programme and which combines 33 partner institutes from 12 EU member countries.

The draft federal budget 2012 is the second "consolidation budget" after the nadir of the financial and economic crisis. The general government's Maastricht deficit is to decline from 3.6 percent of GDP in 2011 to 3.2 percent in 2012. According to the federal medium-term financial framework for...

According to the draft federal budget for 2012, the general government deficit in the Maastricht definition is to be reduced to 3.2 percent of GDP; the debt-to-GDP ratio will move further up to 74.6 percent. The share of transfers, including retirement payments, in total federal expenditure is...

The draft federal budget for 2013 needs to reconcile a substantial move towards fiscal consolidation with a reinforcement of spending in areas crucial for long-term growth of income and employment. The government debt ratio is expected to peak at 75.4 percent of GDP in 2013 and decline...

WIFO coordinates the interdisciplinary four year research project "Welfare, Wealth and Work for Europe – WWWforEurope" within the 7th Framework Programme funded by the European Commission. The project brings together researchers from 33 scientific institutions in 12 European countries with...

The government debt ratio in Austria will rise above 74 percent of GDP in 2012. The quantifiable costs of the financial market crisis and the global recession account for nearly 7¾ percentage points of this ratio, further discretionary measures and statistical revisions for the last few years...