Details

Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Structural reform in France 2013-2017 (CR 2018)
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research
Closed: 2018
A decade after the 2008 economic crisis, economic recovery is far from accomplished in many European countries. Growth differentials across countries persist, between, for example, the USA, which quickly recovered its pre-crisis production level, and a part of the European continent, which persistently lags behind. Within the Euro area, Germany, exemplified for its exceptional performance in terms of job creation, manufacturing production and exports, contrasts with the countries of southern Europe. France in particular is still struggling to find a sustainable growth path; its unemployment rate remains high, and imbalances in the public and current accounts remain worrisome. French economic recovery requires a competitive productive system. In what follows, we first examine the French economic performance relative to other major economies and then compare the price and non-price competitiveness of the French economy with those of three Euro area countries, namely, Germany, Italy and Spain. The crisis has undeniably been a negative shock to manufacturing employment. The dynamic shows that between 2008 and 2013, the French manufacturing sector lost almost 500,000 jobs, which represents as much job destruction as in the previous – yet longer – period characterised by substantial growth. In fact, the surprise comes more from business services. While between 2000 and 2008, services created more than 1 million jobs, largely enough to absorb the jobs destroyed in the industry, job creation in services came to a halt after 2008. This may explain why currently, de-industrialisation has become much more difficult to tolerate than in previous years. In the same vein, the evolution of the industrial production index shows that Southern European countries – France, Italy and Spain – have a productive performance below the Euro area average, whereas Germany had reached its pre-crisis level of industrial production by 2011. For France and its Latin fellow countries, the crisis has been more than a transitional effect; it appears as a "change in constant" that has permanently affected their general level of industrial production. In this respect, the aftermath of the crisis appears to be a major shift in the position of France, which is increasingly moving towards a service economy.
Research group:Industrial, Innovation and International Economics
Language:English

Related issues

Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – ECORYS Holding BV
Closed: 2018
Structural reforms are an important element of the European Semester, as they aim to raise productivity, economic growth, employment, social welfare, etc. Specific fields of attention within the European Semester are, amongst others, the business environment, labour markets and skills, the green economy and fiscal stability. In early 2019 the European Commission will publish further country reports for the various member countries. In order to prepare and inform the work on these publications, the Commission requested to assess the (need for) structural reforms in the Netherlands. The specific objective of this study is "to identify past, present, and pending structural reforms in the Netherlands for the period 2013-2018 and to analyse and report on their origins and the intended and actual impacts". Due to the forward-looking character of this study, specific attention is given to "pending structural reforms" and whether these can contribute to the overall prosperity of the Netherlands and the European Union. The results show that the Netherlands is a RDI frontrunner, but private RDI investments lag behind the innovation leaders. Private R&D expenditures are slightly below EU average, well below benchmark countries. Dutch R&D intensity is thrice as low in "giant" companies. Dutch R&D intensity is far below the EU average in professional services. The study identifies the need for labour market reforms, especially with regard to flexible jobs. There is no evidence that flexwork hurts productivity.
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research
Closed: 2018
This study provides microeconomic, sectoral and regional analyses for the potential or actual impact of the reforms, undertaken by the Italian government, in the areas of public procurement, measures to foster business growth: e-government, SMEs' access to finance as well as research and innovation, and competition in services. During the last decade, Italy has been able to substantially reduce the gap with respect to the EU partners in terms of provision of digital infrastructures for e-government (including e-procurement). However, when looking at the effective usage of these technologies, Italian performance is still unsatisfactory. In this respect, along with the lack of digital competencies of potential users, the tight budget constraints and consequent block of personnel turnover have deprived the Italian public administrations of the critical mass of skills, training and organisational changes needed to accelerate the digital transformation. With respect to the issue of access to finance, Italian SMEs are still characterised by an overreliance on bank debt. Consistently, along with allowing bank-dependent SMEs to operate in a safe set of conditions, the recent fiscal and legislative interventions undertaken by the Italian government have attempted to facilitate the transition to a more intense use of equity finance and market-based financial instruments. All in all, these interventions have been effective. However, some corrections are advisable in terms of strengthening some measures (such as the allowance for corporate equity) and targeting others (e.g., minibonds and individual investment plans) in a more effective way. Moreover, the above framework should be enriched with other interventions aimed at enlarging the markets for venture capital and private equity. With respect to the Italian trade sector, comparative indicators show that the regulatory burden is still significantly higher than the EU average. A lower regulatory restrictiveness in retail trade has a positive effect on the productivity of the aggregate trade sector. In this connection, the Legislative Decree 201/2011 has contributed to the modernisation of the trade sector and improved consumer welfare. This has been accompanied by the exit of smaller and probably less efficient firms. However, the impact of the 2011 reform should not be overstated, since the overall performance of the trade sector has been mainly affected by the trend of domestic consumption. In any case, the increasing difficulties that small retailers have to face cannot be neglected. For these companies to survive and possibly grow, it is necessary to foster innovations, both in terms of organisational changes and digitalisation.
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Instituto Valenciano de Investigationes Económicas – National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London
Closed: 2018
The Spanish economy has been growing at over 3 percent since 2015, above the average for the EU and the euro area. Unemployment, although still 10 percentage points above the EU average, has fallen from a high of 26.1 percent in 2013 to 17.2 percent in 2017. Interest rates are at historical lows thanks to the expansive monetary policy of the European Central Bank. The public deficit has fallen substantially in recent years and is close to, but still above, 3 percent, and there has been a current account surplus for several years. Therefore, Spain's macroeconomic situation appears healthy. However, major vulnerabilities still threaten to hinder long-term growth: high unemployment and mismatches in the labour market, high structural public deficit and external debt, and low productivity growth. Spain must address these vulnerabilities via structural reforms. Structural reforms are a critical factor for long-term growth. If correctly designed and implemented, such reforms can improve the functioning and integration of markets, enhance the degree of fair and open competition, increase incentives for innovation and help the economy to more efficiently allocate resources. In turn, these outcomes can help create the right conditions for increased productivity, which paves the way for higher growth and competitiveness. However, it is crucial to both monitor the progress of national reform programmes and evaluate their effectiveness at the macro- and microeconomic levels.
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Leibniz University Hannover, Center for Economic Policy Studies – Centre for European Economic Research
Closed: 2018
This study discusses structural reforms in Germany in the period 2013 to 2017, including their origins, intended impact, and experiences made with the reforms to date, as well as remaining reform needs. Structural reforms include all government policies and initiatives that aim at creating the right conditions for economic actors to increase the level of productivity of an economy in order to pave the way for higher growth, higher competitiveness and higher income in the future. The structural reforms to be analysed include national reforms aiming at improving the functioning of markets and the conditions for doing business. Reforms whose sole purpose is to implement EU legislation fall outside the scope of this study. Germany has made limited progress in addressing the 2017 country-specific recommendations. Limited progress has been made towards achieving a sustainable upward trend in public investment, including public spending on education, research and innovation. Some progress has been made in addressing capacity and planning constraints on infrastructure investment. There has been limited progress towards stimulating competition in the business services and regulated professions, reducing disincentives to work for second earners and helping them to move into standard employment, promoting higher real wage growth, and reducing the high tax wedge for low-wage earners. No progress has been achieved in making the tax system more efficient and conducive to investment.
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Austrian Institute of Technology – The British Standards Institution – Centre d'Information et de Recherche sur l'Economie Mondiale – ECORYS Holding BV – Economic and Social Research Institute – Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research – ETLA – The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy – Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei – IDEA Consult – Kiel Institute for the World Economy – Instituto Valenciano de Investigationes Económicas – Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for World Economics – National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London – Lower Saxony Institute for Economic Research – Warsaw School of Economics – SPI – Technical Research Centre of Finland – The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies – Centre for European Economic Research – Leibniz University Hannover, Center for Economic Policy Studies – European Business and Innovation Centre Network
Closed: 2018
WIFO-led Framework Contract "Studies in the Areas of European Competitiveness"
Anna Dzienis, Arkadiusz Michał Kowalski, Marek Lachowicz, Marta Mackiewicz, Tomasz M. Napiórkowski, Marzenna Anna Weresa (Warsaw School of Economics)
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Warsaw School of Economics
Commissioned by: European Commission
This report provides the analyses of four areas of structural reforms undertaken in Poland in the period 2013-2018, i.e.: Innovation and R&D, analysed in Part I, The availability of suitable labour supply and skills, analysed in Part II, The improved business (regulatory) environment, analysed in Part III, and Measures to foster business growth, such as "Strategy for Responsible Development", "Constitution for Business" and "Constitution for Science", which are the focus of Part IV. These four areas are interrelated. Strategic documents designed and approved in the years 2017-2018, such as "Strategy for Responsible Development", "Constitution for Business" and "Constitution for Science" created a framework for the conditions for conducting business activity in Poland. The regulatory environment for doing business concerns the process of law making, which impacts not only the content of strategic documents and other legal acts, but also their quality. These two areas shape "the rules of the game" in the Polish economy and have an impact on the other two areas studied in this report, i.e., the labour market and research and innovation.
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Warsaw School of Economics
Commissioned by: European Commission
Closed: 2018
Strategic documents designed and approved in the years 2017 and 2018, such as "Strategy for Responsible Development", "Constitution for Business" and "Constitution for Science" created a framework for the conditions for conducting business activity in Poland. This report analyses four areas of structural reforms undertaken in Poland in the period 2013-2018, i.e.: innovation and R&D, the availability of suitable labour supply and skills, the improved business (regulatory) environment, and measures to foster business growth, such as "Strategy for Responsible Development", "Constitution for Business" and "Constitution for Science". The regulatory environment for doing business concerns the process of law making, which impacts not only the content of strategic documents and other legal acts, but also their quality.
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Economic and Social Research Institute
Closed: 2019
This report quantifies the trade effects of the European integration, but also highlights potentials from further integration in goods markets by addressing existing weaknesses in the implementation and enforcement of the Single Market rules in terms of goods trade, competition as well as productivity and ultimately welfare at the disaggregated level of individual industries and countries. The analysis follows the tradition of earlier studies with a focus on mechanisms and expected benefits of increased trade predicted by traditional (trade) theory (pro-competitive effects of market opening and efficiency gains through economies of scale and increased specialisation according to comparative advantages), but also provides an analysis of – so far less obvious – potential benefits stemming from improvements of institutional quality and its impact on comparative advantage and export specialisation and as a determinant of intra-EU production linkages via (intra-firm) vertical integration or cross-border outsourcing of inputs.
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research
Commissioned by: European Commission
Closed: 2019
The study has provided an in-depth analysis of the logistics and wholesale trade sectors in the EU 27, serving as a background document for the European Commission, notably for the report on Single Market integration and competitiveness, as well as in the context of the European Semester. The methodology used at the quantitative and qualitative levels for the logistics and wholesale trade sectors has allowed the analysis of: academic and other publications related to the topic, the performance and structure of the sectors, the ownership structure and market concentration, the main observable trends regarding the adoption of new technologies, global value chains, and multinationals distribution centres (MNEDCs).
Project lead: Andreas Reinstaller
Completed research studies
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research
Commissioned by: European Commission
Closed: 2019
The study evaluates the implementation of structural reforms agreed in the first and second adjustment programmes and aimed at the enhancement of competition in markets, the improvement of the business environment and privatisations. It focuses on eight major reform categories and issues affecting key sectors of economic activity in Greece or inducing significant changes in the business environment and the operation of markets. The methodology adopted includes the screening of the relevant reforms, the analysis of their implementation and economic impact and the evaluation of their progress with respect to original goals. The analysis is based on detailed and, in many cases, non-publicly available data and information from a wide range of official national sources, and employs both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Completed research studies
Commissioned by: World Economic Forum
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research
Closed: 2018
As the Austrian partner organisation for the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, WIFO undertakes a survey among leading business managers.
Yvonne Wolfmayr, Klaus S. Friesenbichler, Harald Oberhofer, Michael Pfaffermayr (WIFO), Iulia Siedschlag, Mattia Di Ubaldo, Manuel Tong Koecklin, Weijie Yan (ESRI)
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Economic and Social Research Institute
Commissioned by: European Commission
Online since: 24.10.2019 0:00
This report quantifies the gains from European trade integration, but also highlights potentials for further gains by eliminating remaining shortcomings of the Single Market for goods related to incorrect or incomplete transposition, the application of harmonised rules as well as the functioning of the mutual recognition principle. The study confirms that the Single Market has delivered benefits in terms of increased trade, competition, productivity and ultimately welfare. Accession has been a key driver for trade effects in the period considered (1995-2014). The results further indicate that improvements in transposition and enforcement of Single Market rules could be a driver for trade, productivity and welfare gains in the long run. Apart from pro-competitive effects, these gains would also come about through increased specialisation and greater intra-EU production integration. In this respect the study offers evidence of – so far less obvious – additional benefits stemming from improvements of institutional quality. Improvements in regulatory institutional quality have also been a relevant driver of pro-competitive effects on market structure as well as productivity levels in accession countries. Furthermore, differences in the quality of the Single Market legal framework are found to matter for firms' organisational choices for their intra-EU production operations via (intra-firm) vertical integration and cross-border outsourcing, in the context of incomplete contracts.
Studies, March 2019, 201 pages
Commissioned by: European Commission
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – Austrian Institute of Technology
Online since: 24.07.2019 0:00
 
The report provides an overview and analysis of the state of digitalisation in Austria. The findings show that the digitalisation performance of the Austrian economy is mixed. The overall digitalisation performance of Austria is marked by good performance in the manufacturing industries and weaknesses in the service sector compared to the innovation leader countries. The diffusion gap goes hand in hand with low adoption rates in microenterprises and SMEs and is reinforced by modest industrial dynamics in Austria. Reform needs arise regarding the promotion of ICT skills and competences of the workforce. The policy framework is currently in a phase of reorganisation.
WIFO-Monatsberichte, 2019, 92(9), pp.697-705
Online since: 01.10.2019 0:00
 
Die Strukturanalyse der Beschäftigung in Österreich zeigt ein relativ stabiles Muster nach Tätigkeitsschwerpunkten. In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten veränderte sich der Anteil der Arbeitsplätze mit überwiegend Routinetätigkeiten (40%) bzw. Nichtroutinetätigkeiten (60%) kaum. Allerdings verlagerte sich die Struktur langsam weg von Berufen mit überwiegend manuellen Tätigkeiten. Die Veränderung der Tätigkeitsstruktur ist mit der Digitalisierung der österreichischen Wirtschaft verbunden und spiegelt Automatisierungsprozesse insbesondere in der Sachgütererzeugung wider. In hochdigitalisierten Branchen ist der Anteil der Beschäftigten in Berufen mit überwiegend manuellen Aufgaben geringer. Investitionen in Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien verstärken die Verschiebung der Tätigkeitsprofile weg von manuellen Routineaufgaben hin zu Berufen mit analytischen und interaktiven Nichtroutinetätigkeiten. Die durch Digitalisierung bzw. Automatisierung am stärksten gefährdeten manuellen Routinetätigkeiten werden meist von Geringqualifizierten ausgeübt.
Herausforderungen für kleinere Unternehmen durch die Digitalisierung. Bestandsaufnahme und Prioritäten (Challenges of Digitalisation for SMEs and Micro-enterprises. State of Play and Priorities)
WIFO-Monatsberichte, 2019, 92(9), pp.685-695
Online since: 01.10.2019 0:00
 
Kleinere Unternehmen (KMU) weisen auch in Österreich Defizite hinsichtlich der Adoption von digitalen Technologien auf. Anhand von Technologieindikatoren zeigt sich kein genereller Adoptionsnachteil, allerdings besteht hinsichtlich der Gründungsdynamik und des Anteiles schnell wachsender Unternehmen ein Rückstand gegenüber den innovationsführenden Ländern. Dies dürfte indirekte Auswirkungen auf die Diffusion digitaler Technologien und Geschäftsmodelle haben. Die österreichischen kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen sind sich der Bedeutung der Digitalisierung bewusst, die wichtigsten Herausforderungen orten sie unternehmensintern sowie im Bereich von Regulierung, Finanzierung, IKT-Infrastruktur, aber vor allem in einem Mangel an Information und Wissen.
Andreas Reinstaller
Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung und Herausforderungen für die Standortpolitik aus der Sicht der österreichischen Industrie (The Impact of Digitalisation and Challenges for Location Policy from the Perspective of the Austrian Industry)
WIFO-Monatsberichte, 2019, 92(9), pp.675-684
Online since: 01.10.2019 0:00
 
Während sich die österreichischen Industrieunternehmen hinsichtlich der Digitalisierung nicht im Nachteil zu den wichtigsten Konkurrenten sehen, stellt sie die Digitalisierung jedoch als Wettbewerbsfaktor mit zunehmender Bedeutung vor eine Reihe von Herausforderungen. Die Digitalisierung erlaubt einerseits, die Effizienz der Produktion, die Organisation der Wertschöpfungsketten und Vertriebswege zu steigern sowie Produkte besser an Kundenerfordernisse anzupassen und dadurch neue Marktchancen wahrzunehmen. Andererseits erfordert sie eine stetige Verbreiterung der Wissensbasis der Unternehmen, die Entwicklung neuer standardisierter Datenschnittstellen, die Bewältigung neuer Fragen hinsichtlich der Regulierung und des Datenschutzes sowie Strategien zur Eindämmung der negativen Auswirkungen der zunehmenden Fragmentierung von Wertschöpfungsketten. Um die Unternehmen in diesen Prozessen optimal zu unterstützen, sollten nicht nur bereits bekannte strukturpolitische Fragen gelöst, sondern auch neue standortpolitische Strategien entwickelt werden.
Agnes Kügler, Andreas Reinstaller (WIFO), Bernhard Dachs (AIT)
Digitalisierung der österreichischen Wirtschaft im internationalen Vergleich (Digitalisation of the Austrian Economy in an International Comparison)
WIFO-Monatsberichte, 2019, 92(9), pp.663-673
Online since: 01.10.2019 0:00
 
Der Einsatz digitaler Technologien hat das Potential, die Effizienz und Effektivität von Produktionsprozessen zu steigern und damit die Wirtschaftsleistung eines Landes zu beeinflussen. Wie ein Vergleich mit den innovationsführenden Ländern der EU zeigt, ist der österreichische IKT-Produktionssektor klein, in Bezug auf technologische Innovation und Wirtschaftsleistung aber leistungsfähig. Gemessen an den Patentanmeldungen gilt dies besonders im Bereich der Informations- und Kommunikationsgeräte. Auch die Weitergabe von Wissen über digitale Technologien funktioniert in vielen Bereichen gut. Unternehmen wenden diese im europäischen Vergleich aber etwas zögerlich an, wobei hier einerseits ein Unterschied zwischen der Sachgütererzeugung und dem Dienstleistungsbereich besteht, andererseits die Branchenstruktur Einfluss auf die Art der eingesetzten Technologie hat.
Digitalisierung in Österreich: Einleitende Bemerkungen (Digitalisation in Austria: Introductory Remarks)
WIFO-Monatsberichte, 2019, 92(9), pp.659-662
Online since: 01.10.2019 0:00
 
Eine neue Studie zur Digitalisierung in Österreich präsentiert eine Bestandsaufnahme der Digitalisierung des österreichischen Unternehmenssektors und der damit zusammenhängenden Digitalisierungspolitik. Vier Beiträge im vorliegenden Heft der WIFO-Monatsberichte fassen wichtige Ergebnisse zusammen. Der österreichische IKT-Produktionssektor ist demnach klein, in Bezug auf technologische Innovation und Wirtschaftsleistung aber leistungsfähig, während Schwächen insbesondere in Bezug auf die Digitalisierung der Dienstleistungsbranchen identifiziert werden. Die standortpolitischen Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung der österreichischen Industrie werden ebenso analysiert wie Hemmnisse und Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung von Kleinstunternehmen, kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen. Ein Beitrag befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf die Tätigkeitsstruktur der Beschäftigung in Österreich.