Report of the Austrian SOPEMI correspondent to the OECD

The Austrian economy recovered during 2016 from a weak performance, which had lasted for over five years. During 2016, GDP growth reached 1.5%, after 1% in 2015 and 0.6% 2014. Economic growth was fuelled by strong domestic demand, partly flowing from an income tax reform, partly from a significant rise in public expenditure resulting from the reception and integration of the pronounced refugee inflows of 2015/16. In 2017, real GDP growth gained momentum and is expected to reach 2.8% on an annual average, the highest rate since 2011. The positive economic development is largely due to the acceleration of growth of world-trade and the good integration of Austrian exports in the international value added chains. In addition, the investment backlog of CEECs came to an end, partly due to the payment of EU-subsidies, which had been delayed. The positive export performance was complemented by healthy consumer demand, still profiting from the positive effects of the tax reform, which had come into effect in 2016.

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Edition Donau‐Universität Krems