Austrian Institute of Economic Research

The Austrian Institute of Economic Research (Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, WIFO) is a private non-profit association located in Vienna, Austria.

The institute was founded in 1927 by Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises as Österreichisches Institut für Konjunkturforschung ("Austrian Institute for Business-Cycle Research"). With 124 employees (64 researchers, 30 research assistants, 30 administrative staff), and an annual budget of 13.6 million Euros (as of 2001), it is the largest non-university economic research institute in Austria.

WIFO is a member of the "Association of European Conjuncture Institutes" (AIECE), the "Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys" (CIRET), and the "European Economic Research and Advisory Consortium" (ERECO) with partner institutions in Birmingham, Bologna, Cambridge, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rotterdam. It has also established ties to institutes in the US, Australia and Asia.

Research Activities
WIFO analyses national and international economic trends and supplies short- to medium-term economic forecasts. Together with studies on European integration, competitiveness and location of industries and services, these trends and forecasts provide the basis for economic policies and corporate strategies. Research activities are bundled in the following five departments:
 * Macroeconomics and European Economic Policy
 * Labour market, income and social security
 * Industrial economics, innovation and international competition
 * Structural change and regional developments
 * Environment, agriculture and energy

WIFO's activities include commissioned research and consulting for domestic and international decision-making bodies, the European Commission, the OECD, major business and financial institutions. It has established an extensive information system of regularly updated economic statistics, including U.N. Foreign Trade Statistics, World Debt Tables of the World Bank, the IMF International Financial Statistics, OECD Main Economic Indicators, and OECD Economic Outlook. It also publishes journals, reports, newsletters, and periodicals.

Company Classification & Funding
WIFO's legal form is classified as an association. Funding is primarily obtained through membership fees paid by institutional entities, such as the Federal Ministry of Finance and the members of the Austrian social partnership. A smaller portion of funding comes from corporations and private individuals. Public funding is utilised to support basic research endeavours.

Director
The current director is Gabriel Felbermayr, who assumed the position on 1 October 2021, succeeding Christoph Badelt.

Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board of WIFO is made up of Dr. Harald Mahrer, who succeeded Christoph Leitl as president of the Supervisory Board and is President of the Austrian Economic Chamber. Rudi Kaske serves as co-vice president of the organisation, President of the Chamber for Workers and Employees for Vienna and the Federal Chamber of Labor. Alongside Kaske, as co-Vice President, is Dr Ingrid Rubin. Rubin is the University professor for international economics at the Department of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Other representatives on the Board include Dr. Hannes Androsch, Dr. Markus Marterbauer, Dr. Robert Holzmann, Josef Moosbrugger and representatives from carrier organisations and the Austrian political, economic and academic community.

History
WIFO was established in 1927 by economists Friedrich August von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. The institute was modeled after the Ernst Wagemann's Berlin-based Institute for Economic Research.

The institute has undergone a number of naming variations following the merger of WIFO with Ernst Wagemann's institute in 1938. Initially the organisation was referred to as the Vienna Institute for Economic and Business Research, this was later adapted to the Vienna Institute for Economic Research.

After the war, the institute was revived by Franz Nemschak under the name Austrian Institute for Economic Research.