Strengthening Vienna’s Political Economy Community

By Jonas Bunte

The 2nd Vienna Political Economy Workshop brought together political economists from the University of Vienna, WU Vienna, and the Central European University (CEU) to strengthen the Vienna-based political economy research community. In 2025 the workshop was hosted by the University of Vienna and provided a forum for faculty members, post-docs, and PhD students to present ongoing research and discuss new ideas. Across four panels, participants exchanged feedback on work in progress, with a particular focus on supporting early-career scholars.

The program covered a wide range of topics, including political backlash to structural change, climate policy, corruption, inequality, and industrial policy. A central highlight was the keynote lecture by Mark Schwarz, titled “The Unbearable Tightness of Status Quo Thinking: European Industrial Policy in an Era of Change”. Schwarz examined European economic policy through the lens of dependency theory and long-term technological change. He argued that the European Union risks falling behind in the current wave of technological transformation—driven by artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and renewable energy—due to limited investment in intellectual property and business services. Drawing comparisons with U.S. and Chinese industrial strategies, he questioned whether current EU policy proposals underestimate the role of public investment, state coordination, and social infrastructure in supporting economic transformation.

The workshop also showcased ongoing research by WU scholars. We were particularly pleased that our colleague Sidan Raeskyesa presented his paper, “What Drives Special Economic Zone Establishment? The Role of Fiscal Decentralization”. His project examines why some countries establish more Special Economic Zones than others, focusing on how fiscal authority is distributed between central and local governments. The presentation generated detailed discussion on measurement, institutional variation, and the political incentives of national and subnational actors. For students in the WUPOL program, and especially those specializing in Politics and Money, the workshop offered valuable insight into how political economy research is developed, debated, and refined through academic exchange.

The next edition of the Vienna Political Economy Workshop will be hosted by the Institute for International Political Economy in Fall 2026. Further information will follow.

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