Executive Summary
Assessment and Recommendations
Chapter 1. Challenges Facing the Austrian Economy
-Recent Economic Performance and Outlook
-Trend Growth is Stronger than in the Euro Area
-But Growth Performance Can and Should Be Further Improved
-Mismatches in the Labour Market
-Productivity and Employment Lags in Inward-Oriented Sectors
-Weaknesses in the Domestic Regulatory and Tax Framework
-Four Issues Investigated in the Survey
-Annex: Follow-Ups to the Recommendations of the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Austria
Chapter 2. Austria's Deepening Economic Integration with Central and Eastern Europe
-Growing Economic Integration with Central and Eastern Europe
-Positive Overall Impact on Aggregate Output and Employment
-Some Segments of the Population and Workforce Have Been Adversely Affected
-Regional Integration Has Given a Boost to Productivity, Competitiveness, and Profitabilty
-Austria's Attractiveness as a Regional Base for Multinationals Needs to be Maintained
-Policies Can Help Maximize the Benefits and Lower the Adjustment Costs of Regional Integration
Chapter 3. Overcoming Labour Market Segmentation
-Employment of Skilled, Prime-Aged Workers Remains Vigorous
-Groups at the Margin of the Labour Market Do Less Well
-The Government Has Responded to Performance Gaps
-Policy Recommendations
Annex 3.A1. Recent and Planned Measures to Foster Labour Supply
Annex 3.A2. Recent and Planned Measures to Stimulate Labour Demand
Chapter 4. Improving Innovation
-Assessing Austria's Innovation Performance
-Improving Framework Conditions for Innovation
-Recent Innovation Policy Initiatives and Suggestions for Further Reform
Chapter 5. Rationalizing Fiscal Policy and Strengthening Public Expenditure Management
-On Unchanged Policies Austria's Debt is Projected to Rise Significantly over the Long-Term.
-A Key Fiscal Challenge is to Contain Public Spending on Health Care and Pensions
-The 2007-08 Budget Identifies Areas for Higher Public Spending
-A Fiscally Sustainable Reduction in Tax Rates Will Likely Require Further Expenditure Cuts
-The Structure of Taxes Can Be Made More Conducive to Growth and Employment Creation
-Budgetary Reforms Can Help to Strengthen Management of Public Finances
-Reforming Fiscal Federal Relations Can Promote Better Governance and Public Administration
-The Policy Conclusions are Wide-Ranging but Straightforward