Benjamin Bittschi

Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (WIFO) is an independent investment research firm headquartered in Vienna, Austria. The firm was founded in 1927 by Friedrich August von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. WIFO provides applied empirical economic research in Austria with a strong commitment at the European level. The mission of the firm is to build a bridge between academic basic research and economic policy application in order to contribute to solving socio-economic challenges and to create a factual basis for decisions in business and society. Their bridging function also goes hand in hand with an intermediary role between economic policy institutions, university institutions and advisory and consulting companies. WIFO is the point of contact for international organizations (EU, OECD and IMF) and rating agencies with regard to national economic development and the assessment of economic policy measures.

Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS) is an independent Swiss post-university research center which was founded in 1963. Headquartered in Vienna, the firm conducts scientific project in several countries; project funding stems from competitive research grants as well as contract research with contracts from public institutions and companies. IHS prepares quarterly economic forecasts for the Austrian economy for the current and following year. In addition, once a year a medium-term forecast for economic developments in Austria for the next five years are presented. The firm covers a wide spectrum of economics and social sciences.

Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH (ZEW) is an independent investment research firm headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. Founded in 1990, the firm conducts research in the field of applied and policy-oriented economics and provides national and international research with important data sets via its research data center. They support politicians, companies and administrations at national and European level in overcoming economic policy challenges through in-depth advice. ZEW pursues the economic analysis of functioning markets and institutions in Europe as an overarching research guiding principle. Their main research interests are in the areas of competition and regulation. Methodologically, research at ZEW is based in particular on microeconomic and micro econometric approaches.