OECD Economics Department Working Papers
Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.
- Forthcoming titles
- ISSN: 18151973 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151973
Boosting Austria's Innovation Performance
Enhancing growth through more innovation has become a priority for Austrian policy makers in line
with European policies as laid down in the Lisbon Agenda. This paper discusses Austria’s innovation
performance, its innovation policies, and general framework conditions for innovation and growth. Austria
has increased its R&D spending as a share of GDP over the last ten years, largely reflecting more business
R&D, and aims at increasing it further to 3% of GDP by 2010. Innovation activity as measured by output
indicators has also improved in various fields, including the number of innovating SMEs. Furthermore,
policy instruments and institutions have been improved and a culture of policy evaluation is developing.
However, the paper identifies some weaknesses, particularly in general economic framework conditions,
which may limit the creation and diffusion of innovation and productivity growth. It suggests focusing
more on these framework conditions, notably by strengthening competition in non-manufacturing product
markets, such as retail and professional services, reducing the cost of firm creation and improving human
capital. It also argues that focusing on a numerical target for R&D spending as an end in itself is very
unlikely to be cost effective. With its university reform in 2002, Austria has made a major step in
improving the efficiency of tertiary education but more needs to be done.
Keywords: productivity, research and development, tertiary education, economic growth, subsidies, technological change, innovation, competition
JEL:
Q52: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects;
J2: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor;
H2: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue;
Q40: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Energy / Energy: General;
O31: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives;
O38: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Technological Change: Government Policy;
O33: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes;
Q43: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Energy / Energy and the Macroeconomy;
O30: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights / Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General
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