WIFO White Paper: Towards Higher Employment via Economic Growth Based on Innovation and Qualification

The pace of economic growth currently projected for Austria will not be strong enough for a reduction of unemployment. Higher growth is and remains the key leverage to raise employment and reduce the number of unemployed. However, for a high-income country oriented towards the European top group and being among the richest in the world a strategy must be designed whereby stronger growth is achieved on the basis of innovation and qualification. Technical progress and higher quality rather than production of larger quantities supported by low wages is the guiding principle. This requires a whole set of measures within a well-designed and consistent reform strategy supported by broad-based social consensus and optimism and underpinned by a long-term financial perspective. In its White Paper "Towards Higher Employment via Economic Growth Based on Innovation and Qualification", WIFO presents such a strategy.