The dispute over the most effective measures against inflation and poverty caused a stir in parliament on Friday. Top Austrian economist Gabriel Felbermayr talks to Conny Bischofberger about toothless politics, cynical remarks and his greatest wish for the next federal government.
Friday afternoon at the Austrian Institute for Economic Research, which is located in the middle of Vienna’s “Arsenal”. Crime novels are sometimes filmed in the stairwell with the typical wall reliefs – such as, curiously enough, at the Kieler Institute for the World Economy, which Gabriel Felbermayr has led as president since 2019. “It is housed in an old former hotel and the library building serves as a police station at the ‘crime scene’ in Kiel.”
Scandinavian flair can still be found in his current office. “My colleagues gave me this Gorch Fock as a parting gift,” says the Wifo boss, pointing to the miniature of the German Navy sailing ship. Sometimes, he admits, he still longs for the sea. “My former institute was right on the fjord and in the evening you went to the sandy harbor for a fish sandwich and a beer.”
From the table, laid with red apples and cinnamon buns from the organic bakery, he now looks out over the military building complex, which also houses the Museum of Military History. Felbermayr has been Wifo boss since 2021 and Austria’s most influential economist.
Crown: Caritas shook the country awake with its poverty report. Due to rising prices, more and more families can no longer afford a hot meal. What goes through your head as an economist and as a human being?
Gabriel Felbermayr: Shame on you, because we are one of the richest countries in the world. The economist naturally wonders how it could have come to this despite our social system, which is one of the most developed in the world? And what should be done now. The fact that people can no longer properly care for their children or feed themselves in a balanced way is certainly not a permanent situation.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
