The Current Account and Competitiveness

The international competitive position of Austria's economy has improved over the period of 1987 to 1990. The surplus in the current account increased despite a positive growth differential vis-à-vis other countries. Austria's economy gained shares in the export market, while the import intensity (relative to other countries) remained unchanged. The long-term improvement in the current account from the middle of the seventies to the middle of the eighties, most visible in the trade account, was, however, mainly due to the fact that the growth in domestic demand lagged behind the OECD average, depressing the expansion in imports.