Wifo boss: GDP forecasts wobble with a longer lockdown
If the current lockdown is significantly extended beyond the currently envisaged time, the economic growth forecast of 2.5 percent for this year could, according to Wifo boss Christoph Badelt, “no longer be tenable”. Whether one should do that or not, however, is not an economic question, but a health-political one, said Badelt on Thursday evening in “ZiB1” on ORF television.
Currently, most lockdown measures are scheduled for February 7th, some – such as the closings in restaurants and tourism – until the end of February. A sustainable upturn can only be expected when the pandemic is under control, the article said. The prospects would remain bleak for the time being, and according to Wifo, the domestic economy will probably shrink until March at least.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said Thursday evening in “ZiB2” whether the opening date will be February 8th. The virological situation will be decisive for this. “We will definitely not allow Austria to take a big risk,” said Anschober.
The Economic Research Institute (Wifo) and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) presented their last quarterly economic forecasts on December 18, when the third corona lockdown was already emerging. Immediately before that, Wifo had assumed a 4.5 percent increase in GDP for 2021; then the growth expectations were reduced to 2.5 percent.
