OECD Economic Surveys 2003: Austria

Table of contents......Page 5
Basic statistics of Austria, 2002......Page 8
Assessment and recommendations......Page 10
I. Recent macroeconomic developments and medium-term issues......Page 22
Table 1. Output, employment and productivity, 1990-2002......Page 23
Box 1. The impact of EU enlargement on Austria......Page 24
Recent macroeconomic performance and the short-term outlook......Page 25
Table 2. Demand and output......Page 26
Table 3. Current account of the balance of payments......Page 27
Figure 1. External competitiveness and export market share......Page 28
Table 4. Trade by region......Page 29
Relative growth has slowed since the middle of the 1990s......Page 30
Figure 2. Inflation developments......Page 31
Figure 3. Growth developments......Page 32
Employment generation is below its potential......Page 33
… with labour force participation of the older people being very low......Page 34
Figure 7. The demographic impact on labour force participation rates, 2000-2030......Page 36
… reflecting significant disincentives to labour force participation of older people......Page 37
Barriers to labour force participation interact with disincentives for labour demand......Page 38
Figure 9. Marginal tax wedge on labour......Page 39
Productivity growth could be higher......Page 40
Figure 10. ICT investment and R&D spending......Page 41
Improving economic performance requires fiscal consolidation......Page 42
Figure 12. Adults in formal education, 2001......Page 43
A balanced budget was achieved in 2001 – earlier than envisaged…......Page 44
… while a small deficit re-emerged thereafter…......Page 45
… and is set to rise further…......Page 46
… while resuming a balanced budget has been deferred to the medium term......Page 47
Figure 13. Trends in general government spending......Page 48
Table 7. Medium-term objectives for the general government......Page 49
Figure 14. General government balances......Page 50
Streamlining administrations and targeting outcomes......Page 51
Improving incentives within administrations......Page 52
Reducing administrative slack......Page 53
Utilising the potential of competitive procurement policies......Page 54
Improving the efficiency of federal fiscal relations......Page 55
Reducing the size and scope of the public enterprise sector......Page 58
Table 8. The scope of the public enterprise sector in EU countries, end-1998......Page 59
Table 9. Public enterprises with central-government shareholdings, 2002......Page 60
Untitled......Page 62
Box 3. Pension reform 2003......Page 64
Strengthening the funded layer of the pension system......Page 67
Old-age part-time employment and unemployment benefits......Page 68
Family support......Page 69
Table 10. Taxes and benefits for couples with children......Page 70
Increasing wage flexibility......Page 71
Figure 15. Wage-age profiles for men, 2001......Page 72
Revisiting employment protection......Page 74
Strengthening education......Page 75
Figure 16. Educational performance of 15 year olds and spending on education......Page 76
Box 4. Labour and product market reform – an overview of progress......Page 79
The scope for competition enhancing policies......Page 84
Policies and other forces acting on competition via international trade......Page 85
Figure 17. Industry-level mark-ups in Austria and other OECD countries......Page 86
Table 11. Specialisation patterns and indicators of innovation in selected countries......Page 87
Figure 18. Indicators of market openess......Page 88
The institutional settings......Page 89
Table 12. Competition law enforcement: the institutional settings......Page 90
Key features of the legal framework......Page 91
Box 5. Definition of market dominance in Austria......Page 92
Figure 19. Staff resources of competition authorities in OECD countries......Page 94
Network industries......Page 95
Table 13. Indicators of regulation and competition in the electricity market in EU countries, 2002......Page 98
Figure 20. Electricity prices in Austria and selected OECD countries......Page 99
Box 6. Electricity market fact sheet......Page 100
Retail distribution......Page 101
Figure 21. Five-firm market concentration in grocery and daily goods retailing in EU countries......Page 102
Table 14. Key structural features of the retail distribution sector, 2000......Page 103
Table 15. Opening hours in retail distribution in the EU, 1999......Page 105
Regulation in trades and professions......Page 106
Figure 22. Firm turnover and survival rates in Austria......Page 108
Figure 23. Regulations of professions: restrictiveness indices for OECD countries......Page 110
Potential macroeconomic effects from further regulatory reform in selected industries......Page 109
Box 7. Economy wide effects of sectoral reforms......Page 111
Table 16. Assumptions and effects of pro-competitive regulatory reform in selected countries......Page 112
Box 8. Potential effects of sectoral reforms......Page 113
Figure 24. Composite basket of telephone charges, August 2002......Page 114
A menu of reforms......Page 115
Box 9. Summary of recommendations......Page 116
Performance......Page 120
Box 10. Policy integration across sustainable development areas......Page 121
Table 17. Main indicators: climate change......Page 122
Table 18. GHG emissions and sectoral indicators......Page 123
Table 19. GHG emissions by sector: trends and targeted reductions......Page 125
Main issues......Page 127
Policies......Page 128
Table 20. Performance indicators: waste......Page 129
Figure 25. Recycling and treatment of municipal waste......Page 130
Table 21. Comparison of “Green Dot” fees for various packaging types in 2000......Page 131
Performance......Page 132
Table 22. OECD imports from least-developed and low-income countries......Page 133
Figure 26. Net ODA relative to GDP and by managing institution......Page 134
Policies......Page 135
Table 23. Producer support estimates and their components: 2000 and 1987......Page 136
Conclusions......Page 138
Notes......Page 139
Bibliography......Page 148