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Due to the crisis in the crown, structural policy measures should also be taken.
Vienna In May, Austrian exports of goods fell 25.5 percent compared to the previous month. The decline for the full year was still forecast to be between 12 and 22 percent in the first quarter. The monthly development currently suggests that the fall in exports this year will be minus twelve percent, that is, at the lower end of this range. So writes the economic research institute (Wifo) in a new report.
In a special Wifo survey on uncertainty and corporate strategies, almost three-quarters of industrial companies report that they fear potential supply bottlenecks and a break in the value chain. A good third see uncertainty as a result of world trade. Therefore, Wifo has also examined possible solutions. The authors conclude that extensive fiscal and monetary policy measures are needed to stabilize companies. But that alone is not enough. Structural policy measures are also required to diversify exports and increase resilience.
The long-term study of exports of national goods shows that between 2000 and 2008 these had a strongly expansionary phase. However, after the financial and economic crisis until 2010, they lost market share and unique selling points in world trade. The current economic crisis is now showing “effects of unprecedented proportions, which are also affecting foreign trade and are likely to accelerate and deepen the unfavorable development of the Austrian export economy as a result of the economic and financial market crisis of 2008/09. “according to the Wifo scientists.
What to do? For goods production companies, R&D, cooperation with other companies and (further) development of human capital are the most important starting points, Wifo experts write. The most urgent need for action lies in the training of academic and non-academic specialists. The current focus of foreign trade strategy on dual training should be expanded.
Additionally, research funding should pay more attention to targeted funding of projects that aim to link fields of technology into new fields of application. New markets should also be established. Exports of services should be strengthened and promoted. (APA)
(“Die Presse”, print edition, 21.09.2020)
