Michael Peneder Becomes WIFO Deputy Director for Research

Born in Steyr, Michael Peneder (54 years old) is a Senior Economist at WIFO and has been working in WIFO's research group "Industrial Economics, Innovation and International Competition" since 1992. From 2010 to 2013, he was already responsible for scientific coordination in the Directorate.

He studied economics at the University of Vienna and at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, where he habilitated in 2017. In addition to teaching in Vienna, he has been a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto (2004, 2008, 2015) and a visiting researcher at Harvard University (2009, 2018) and Stanford University (2003, 2015). His research on issues of competitiveness, productivity, innovation and finance is documented by numerous publications in international journals. For the book Schumpeter's Venture Money (Oxford University Press, 2021), he was recently awarded the international Schumpeter Award 2022 (together with his co-author Andreas Resch, WU Vienna).

Important international projects under the lead of Michael Peneder include, for example, the coordination of the EU KLEMS productivity accounts for Austria (2003-2007), the European Commission's annual reports on the competitiveness of the European economy (from 2006 to 2014 as head of the international consortium) or a study of efficient energy technologies in the DACH region co-financed by the FWF (2015-16). As Chair of the Committee for Evolutionary Economics, he was a member of the extended Board of the Verein für Socialpolitik (2018-19).

"With Michael Peneder, the management board gains an internationally highly respected researcher", said WIFO Director Gabriel Felbermayr, who also took this opportunity to expressly thank Jürgen Janger for his extraordinary commitment and his particular innovative strength. With Felbermayr and the deputy directors Alexander Loidl (Finance and Human Resources) and Ulrike Famira-Mühlberger (External Relations), Michael Peneder (Research) completes the four-member management board of the Institute.