Emphasis in Research

The Department’s research activities are a major contribution not only to our high-quality academic programs, but also to the international reputation of the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien through the independent generation of knowledge, the publication of internationally recognized papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, through presentations and talks at international conferences and through publications included in relevant proceedings and edited volumes.

The diversity of research topics handled in the Department is made up of a well-balanced mix of basic and applied research. The focus on empirical economic research contributes to the analysis of current problems in economic development and financial policy in Austria. The various interests and areas of expertise of the individual researchers active in the Department are contributing factors to this diversity of research topics, which also reflects the challenges presented by a changing economy and a changing society.

Based on this premise, the Department of Economics has oriented its research approach toward an analysis of the field Employment and Competition: institutional, international and macroeconomic aspects according to the newest scientific theories and methods. The complexity of this field gives rise to numerous further research questions which are handled by the individual institutes in an interdisciplinary manner (for more information, see the homepages of the individual Institutes or the WU research database FIDES).

The establishment of two research institutes has opened up new research areas for the Department.

  • The Research Institute for Economics of Aging focuses – in Cooperation with the City of Vienna and under administration of Prof. Schneider – on topics of the socio-economic living conditions of older people and on the economic challenges of an aging society.

  -   Efficiency and productivity analysis

  -   The relationship between regulation and quality

  • Since its start in 2003 the interdisciplinary Research Institute on International Taxation has been aiming to provide structured answers to issues raised in the scientific and political debate on international tax coordination within an area where countries are striving for economic integration. The research team focuses on various different issues in the area of international tax coordination, but has a clear overall research question, which is:
    “Which degree of tax coordination of direct taxation within the European Union and in relation to third countries is suitable for solving problems arising from national tax sovereignty from a management, legal and economic viewpoint and which problems may arise from tax coordination itself?”