Thematic Platform "European Integration and Global Governance"

The Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment (SECURE) project will develop coordination and support measures to create, trial, implement, and mainstream a common Research Career Framework (RCF) that offers a suite of options to support organisations in the recruitment, employment, training, development, progression, and mobility of researchers with the aim of improving research careers and reducing career precarity. The RCF will recognise the research profession across sectors, provide a career development and progression structure for research careers, recognise both research and transferable skills and competences, facilitate intersectoral collaboration and mobility, and offer solutions to the precariousness of research careers in academia.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is independent in the conduct of monetary policy. However, it is accountable to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament. This is implemented via the "Monetary Dialogue". Every three months, the President of the ECB or, occasionally, another member of the ECB's Executive Board appears before the Committee to report on monetary policy and answer questions from Members of Parliament, who are informed in advance by experts. WIFO is part of a consortium of institutes that provides the Committee with independent expert advice on monetary and economic policy for the period 2020-2024.

This project uses the rich historic experience of repeated large-scale and unexpected economic (dis-)integrations at the Austrian-Czech border to test the predictions of economic geography models of regional development. In particular we analyse the impact of these dis-integration events on regional development: first, in both Austria and the Czech Republic so that we focus on two countries which for a substantial part of the period analysed were characterised by rather different political regimes and huge differences in incomes and costs, that additionally changed over time; second, for a large set of (dis-)integration episodes that span a period of almost a century so that we compare different (dis-)integration events, that took place at different points in time at which the considered countries differed substantially in income levels and institutions; third, with respect to many potential adjustments (such as population and employment and unemployment growth as well as firm entry and exit) that will inform future research on the mechanisms through which the regional economic effects of integration operate.

This project investigates the possibility of the existence of middle-income traps among European NUTS-2 regions. Thus, the study extends the literature on middle-income traps, which has so far mainly focused on the national level, to the subnational level. Given the granularity of regional data, the study aims at improving existing spatial econometric methods by simultaneously accounting for spatial dependence, the nature of spatial spillover processes and the uncertainty regarding alternative definitions of growth regimes. Furthermore, the project focuses on analysing growth determinants of middle-income regions, such as EU regional funds, and studies factors driving regions to falling into and escaping from a middle-income trap.

Within this framework contract with the European Commisssion DG TAXUD specific economic studies in the area of taxation will be commissioned. WIFO has the lead of a consortium which consists of CASE (Poland), Copenhagen Economics (Denmark/International), IEB (Spain), Ifo (Germany), PwC (Belgium/International) and VATT (Finland).

Geoökonomische Konzepte gewinnen auch in der Handelspolitik der EU an Bedeutung. Eine Reihe neuer handelspolitischer Instrumente soll den Schutz des Binnenmarkts vor unlauteren Handelspraktiken sowie die Durchsetzung der eigenen Interessen und Werte (Nachhaltigkeit, Menschenrechte, soziale Standards usw.) erleichtern. Die Studie gibt einen ausführlichen Überblick über acht handelspolitische Instrumente: Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), International Procurement Instrument (IPI), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Foreign Subsidy Instrument (FSI), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (DD), Level Playing Field Provisions in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (LPF), Enforcement Regulation (ER) und die Deforestation Initiative (DI). Mit Hilfe von Gravitationsmodellen und einem quantitativen Handelsmodell werden die Auswirkungen der ausgewählten Instrumente auf den Handel und die Wohlfahrt der EU und Österreichs auf der Grundlage verschiedener Szenarien geschätzt.

Framework Contract with DG TAXUD with reopening of competition for the provision evaluation and impact assessment-related services. WIFO is part of a consortium, led by ECORYS.

This project examines the capacity of EU regions to innovate in green and digital technologies, and whether interregional cooperation can help foster the twin transition. A particular focus will be on the implications of the twin transition for economic and social cohesion among EU regions.