Following the intellectual exodus of the 1930s and persecution by the Nazi regime, economics in Austria had, with only a handful
of exceptions, lost connection to international trends. After 1945, political choices further consolidated this state of affairs.
Only after a generation change and thanks to a climate of reforms in the late 1960s and 1970s, research both outside and inside
universities managed to catch up. Today, academic economics in Austria is part of an integrated European and North American
market for economists as well as for economic ideas.
Die Geschichte des WIFO ist eng mit der jüngeren Wirtschaftsgeschichte Österreichs verbunden. Zentral für die Erfolgsgeschichte
des WIFO ist die wissenschaftliche Qualität und Unabhängigkeit, aufbauend auf soliden personellen und finanziellen Strukturen.
