The event focused on the importance of social and welfare state structures and institutions both for society and the economy. Nikolaus Dimmel (University of Salzburg) gave a keynote address on the social value of the Austrian welfare state and its fundamental importance for a social, political and economic democracy.
In the subsequent panel discussion, chaired by Dorothea Brozek, WIFO social expert Christine Mayrhuber discussed with Nikolaus Dimmel, Markus Hofmann (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund – DGB), Agnes Streissler-Führer (GPA) and Franz Schellhorn (Agenda Austria). Christine Mayrhuber took up the economic dimension and explained the complex interactions between welfare state regulations and economic indicators. She showed that social and ecological framework conditions have a decisive influence on a country's long-term level of development. Internationally, a high correlation between labour productivity, employment and social rate and life satisfaction can be observed, but also a strengthening of economic resilience and thus the quality of location in developed welfare states. In addition, the Austrian tax-and-benefit-system as well as public services mitigate the unequal distribution of market incomes and thus strengthen overall demand.
