Austria: 2011 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Austria

IMF Staff Country Reports, September 6, 2011

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Canonical URL: Austria: 2011 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Austria

Increasing integration to the East has benefited the Austrian economy, but also created vulnerabilities that came to a head with the global financial crisis.
The crisis has highlighted old challenges and created new ones that need to be addressed.
The banking sector’s return to more normal levels of profitability creates the conditions for a further build-up of high-quality capital and exit from government support.
Policies to foster labor market participation by low-skill workers and human capital accumulation would increase long-term growth.

Return to more normal levels of profitability noted as a condition for:
- further build-up of high-quality capital
- exit from government support
Vulnerabilities tied to increased integration with the East and amplified by the global financial crisis.

Main recommendation: foster labor market participation by low-skill workers.
Complementary recommendation: promote human capital accumulation to increase long-term growth.

Strengthen banking-sector capitalization to enable withdrawal of government support.
Address legacy vulnerabilities exposed by the crisis while managing new challenges arising from deeper external integration.
Implement labor-market and education policies targeted at low-skill workers to raise participation and support sustainable growth.

Selected Data, 2007–12
- Selected Data, 2007–12 (Markdown version)
- Selected Data, 2007–12 (PDF)