OSTERREICHISCHES INSTITUT FUR WIRTSCHAFTSFORSCHUNG VEREIN

Their core work

WIFO (Austrian Institute of Economic Research) is one of Austria's leading independent economic research institutes, providing evidence-based analysis on macroeconomic trends, fiscal policy, and social welfare systems. In H2020, they contributed specialist analytical expertise to projects examining EU tax policy harmonization and the economic drivers of productivity and growth across European economies. Their work translates complex economic and fiscal data into policy-relevant recommendations for governments and EU institutions. They function as a scientific partner bringing rigorous quantitative and institutional analysis to large, multi-country research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early H2020 work (FairTax, 2015–2019) was firmly anchored in fiscal policy — EU tax coordination, compliance mechanisms, jurisdictional questions, and the gender equity dimensions of taxation. The subsequent project (GROWINPRO, 2019–2022) shifted toward macroeconomic fundamentals: growth dynamics, welfare systems, and productivity — with no tax-specific keywords at all. This suggests a deliberate broadening from narrow fiscal policy research toward wider economic performance analysis, though two projects are too few to confirm a durable strategic shift.

WIFO appears to be moving from tax-specific fiscal research toward broader macroeconomic topics — growth, welfare, and innovation productivity — which may position them well for future work on European competitiveness and post-crisis economic recovery policy.

How they like to work

WIFO participates exclusively as a consortium partner rather than a project coordinator, contributing specialist economic research expertise within larger interdisciplinary teams rather than driving project management or administration. With 23 distinct partners across 16 countries over just two projects, they clearly engage in large, geographically diverse consortia — averaging roughly 11–12 partners and 8 countries per project. This pattern is characteristic of established national economic institutes that provide country-level data, access to national statistics, and authoritative analytical capacity to multi-national research efforts.

WIFO has collaborated with 23 distinct partner organizations across 16 countries — a notably broad reach for only two projects — indicating consistent participation in large, pan-European consortia. No geographic concentration is visible from the available data, suggesting openness to working with partners from across the EU and beyond.

What sets them apart

WIFO brings the credibility of a long-established national economic research institute, providing Austria-specific macroeconomic data, access to national statistics, and policy-relevant analytical frameworks that university groups typically cannot replicate. Their combination of fiscal governance expertise and macroeconomic research makes them one of the few partners who can bridge EU tax coordination questions with growth and welfare analysis in a single team. For consortia needing authoritative economic input from the DACH region or Central Europe, WIFO is a natural anchor partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FairTax
  WIFO's most thematically documented H2020 involvement, covering EU tax coordination, compliance, sustainability, and gender equity in a single research framework — rare scope in fiscal policy research.
• GROWINPRO
  Signals WIFO's expansion beyond tax policy into macroeconomic productivity and welfare research, and at EUR 209,250 is their largest single H2020 grant.