Italy and Austria – A Macroeconomic Comparison

Due to their dissimilar position in the European integration process (affiliation to EC versus EFTA) the external framework of the Italian and the Austrian economy is different. Besides, domestic conditions (stronger regional disparities in Italy) and diverging policy approaches (social conflict versus consensus strategies) also explain discrepancies in aggregate economic performance. Trend growth of GDP is higher in Italy than in Austria, but inflation, unemployment, and public indebtedness are markedly more severe.