Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna

What Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna does

The Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna is an independent, non-university, non-profit research institute (gemeinnütziger Verein) founded in 1963 and headquartered at Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080 Vienna. It conducts basic and applied research across economics and social sciences, with research units covering macroeconomics, labor economics, health economics, education economics, digitalization, and social transformation, supplemented by two junior research groups. The institute operates more than 50 specialized research groups and produces a broad portfolio of outputs: regular Austrian economic forecasts (Konjunkturprognose), the Joint Economic Forecast with German institutes, the IHS Price Monitor, the IHS Trademonitor, the Economic High-Frequency Monitor, pan-European surveys (European Social Survey Austria, EUROSTUDENT, the Student Social Survey Sozalerhebung with ~45,000 respondents), the Empirical Economics journal, research reports and discussion papers, and the IRIHS institutional repository.

IHS is funded primarily through commissioned research and public tenders. Its revenue streams consist of bespoke commissioned research studies — executed with methodological independence from clients — and participation in public tenders and framework contracts, including a major framework agreement with the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and recurring OeNB Anniversary Fund grants. Its customer base is overwhelmingly public-sector and institutional: Austrian federal ministries (Education; Social Affairs), regulatory bodies (E-Control), regional health insurance funds (NÖGKK), the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, the European Commission and European Parliament, and academic networks; a secondary segment reaches media and the general public through press releases, public lectures, the IHS newsletter, and an Instagram channel (DigiTransLab).

The institute is led by President Dr. Franz Fischler, Vice President Dr. Ulrike Baumgartner-Gabitzer, Scientific Director Prof. Dr. Holger Bonin, and General Secretary Julia Studencki, with research-unit leadership including junior group heads Laura Wiesböck (Digitalization and Social Transformation) and Eduard Storm (Skill Demand during Structural Change). Independent status, methodological autonomy, and over six decades of public availability of results position IHS as Austria's leading economic forecasting institute, ranked No. 1 in the FocusEconomics Analyst Forecast Awards.

Name

Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna

Legal name

Institut für Höhere Studien – Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)

Website

https://ihs.ac.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna is an independent, non-profit economic and social science research institute founded in 1963, serving Austrian and German federal ministries, regulators, the OeNB, and EU institutions with commissioned research, economic forecasting, and pan-European survey coordination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE), Higher Education Governance & Quality Policy Research (EDADADAI), Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

Keywords

• Economic research
• Social science research
• Economic forecasting
• Policy analysis
• Survey data services

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Research Studies: IHS conducts commissioned research projects, studies, tests, and analyses for clients. The institute executes orders independently without client instructions on methodology. Studies are published in the IHS institutional repository. As a non-profit association (gemeinnütziger Verein), no value-added tax is charged.
2. Public Tenders and Framework Contracts: IHS participates in tenders and submits to respective tender terms. Major framework contracts include agreements with German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) for expert scientific reports.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IHS conducts independent, commissioned basic and applied research in economics and social sciences, delivering studies, policy analyses, and economic forecasts to government ministries, EU institutions, and public organizations. The institute publishes research through its own journal, report series, and digital repository, and operates economic data tools (Price Monitor, Trademonitor, High-Frequency Monitor) and survey data infrastructure (ESS Austria, EUROSTUDENT, Student Social Survey). As a non-profit association, IHS maintains strict methodological independence and disseminates findings publicly.

Product overview

The Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) Vienna is an independent, non-profit economic and social research institute offering a portfolio of research tools, survey data services, and publication series. Its core products include economic forecasting tools (Konjunkturprognose, Joint Economic Forecast, High-Frequency Monitor), economic data visualization tools (IHS Price Monitor, IHS Trademonitor), and survey data infrastructure (ESS Austria, EUROSTUDENT, Student Social Survey). IHS also publishes research through its own journal (Empirical Economics), research report and discussion paper series, and the Health System Watch publication. The IRIHS institutional repository provides access to all scientific outputs. Two junior research groups focus on digitalization/social transformation and skill demand research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DigiTransLab: Instagram channel run by the Junior Research Group Digitalization and Social Transformation, providing insights into platformization research.

Products and services

• Economic Forecast Austria (Konjunkturprognose) Short-term and medium-term economic forecasting for Austria, including GDP growth, inflation, and employment projections, delivered to government and public stakeholders.
• Joint Economic Forecast Collaborative economic forecasting with other German research institutes providing joint analysis of the German and European economy.
• IHS Price Monitor (Preismonitor) Real-time inflation monitoring and detailed breakdown of price developments in Austria, available as an interactive online tool.
• IHS Trademonitor Interactive online tool visualizing Austria's foreign trade relations and trade data.
• Economic High-Frequency Monitor Near real-time economic indicators and data visualization for assessing current economic conditions.
• European Social Survey (ESS) Austria Austrian coordination of the European Social Survey, providing cross-national social science data on European populations for academic and policy use.
• EUROSTUDENT International survey comparing social and economic conditions of student populations across European countries, with IHS as coordinating partner.
• Student Social Survey (Sozialerhebung) Comprehensive survey on the social and economic conditions of students in Austria, conducted periodically for the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research.
• Commissioned Research Studies Independent commissioned research projects, studies, tests, and analyses for clients conducted without instruction on methodology; results are published in the IRIHS institutional repository.
• Health System Watch Regular publication series analyzing and monitoring Austria's healthcare system with cross-country European comparisons.
• Empirical Economics Journal Peer-reviewed academic journal published by IHS covering empirical economics research.
• IHS Research Reports Peer-reviewed research reports covering economic and social policy topics produced by IHS researchers.
• IHS Discussion Papers Working paper series presenting preliminary research findings for academic discussion.
• IRIHS Institutional Repository Digital repository providing access to all IHS scientific publications including articles, conference papers, book chapters, and research reports, with advanced search and export functionality.
• Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF) Doctoral training program in finance established by IHS in cooperation with WU University and the University of Vienna, training future generations of finance researchers and practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked Austria's No.1 Overall Forecaster by FocusEconomics Analyst Forecast Awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Research Centre International Economics (FIW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Since spring 2025, IHS has been a member of the Research Centre International Economics (FIW). This cooperation strengthens IHS's engagement in foreign trade research and provides access to the FIW Trade Indicator for analyzing Austrian export data.
• German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024IHS secured a major framework contract with BMAS to produce expert scientific reports on labor market and social policy topics. This represents a significant international partnership extending IHS's research reach beyond Austria.
• Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005VGSF was founded by IHS together with WU University and the University of Vienna as a successful PhD program in finance. Celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025, aiming to train future generations of finance researchers and practitioners.
• E-ControlminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHS conducted a behavioral economics study commissioned by E-Control examining acceptance of smart electricity grids. Study explored consumer behavior regarding smart grid control systems.
• European Social Survey (ESS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHS serves as the Austrian coordinator for the European Social Survey, managing data collection, processing, and distribution. IHS also conducted the ESS COVID19 Survey in 2021 and coordinates the Joint ESS, SHARE & GGP User Meeting.
• European Graduate SurveyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHS is part of the coordinating consortium that designed the Eurograduate survey, contributing to research on graduate outcomes across European countries.
• SUNRISE EU ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHS participated in workshops for the SUNRISE EU project focused on strengthening critical infrastructure research. Workshop aimed to develop scientific papers building on project insights.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Conference Board: Global business research organization producing economic forecasts, labor market indicators, and policy analysis for member companies and governments. Overlaps with IHS's forecasting, labor, and price monitoring work at international scale.
• European Commission Joint Research Centre: EU's in-house science and knowledge service producing economic forecasts, policy reports, and survey research for European institutions. Larger scale but directly comparable research mandate that IHS supports via ESS and other contracts.
• OECD Economics Department: Multilateral policy research and forecasting body producing the OECD Economic Outlook that competes with national forecasters like IHS for policy-maker attention. Wider geographic and thematic scope but overlapping on Austria and EU economic analysis.

Direct peers

• Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel): German economic research institute focused on global economic policy and forecasting. Overlaps with IHS on international economic research and EU policy advisory work.
• WIFO - Austrian Institute of Economic Research: Austria's other flagship economic research institute, providing economic forecasting and policy analysis for Austrian ministries and the public. Direct domestic peer competing with IHS on government advisory mandates and forecasting rankings.
• ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research: Germany's leading economic forecasting institute, joint publisher of the Joint Economic Forecast (which IHS contributes to). Closest functional peer in scope, methodology, and DACH ministry clientele.
• IWH - Halle Institute for Economic Research: German Leibniz institute for applied economic research covering productivity, labour markets, and financial markets. Comparable DACH economic research and policy advisory mandate.
• DIW Berlin - German Institute for Economic Research: Berlin-based economic and social science research institute producing policy advice, forecasting, and survey work for German and EU clients. Directly comparable in mandate and delivery model to IHS.
• RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research: Essen-based economic research institute explicitly named in IHS talent flows (postdoc placements). Comparable scope across labor, health, and education economics with similar ministry contracting.
• ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research: Mannheim-based institute conducting research on labour markets, digitalisation, and European economic policy. Closely overlaps with IHS's labor economics and digitalization research groups.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/digitranslab
• Xx.com/IHS_Vienna
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-advanced-studies-ihs-vienna

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna