The Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)/Institut für Höhere Studien was established as a private non-profit society. It was set up in 1963 on the initiative of Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Oskar Morgenstern with the help of the Ford Foundation, the Austrian Ministry of Education and the Council of Vienna. The Institute’s highest body is the Board of Trustees, composed of leading figures of the worlds of politics, science and economy. The Institute is financed by subsidies from the Federation (Federal Ministry of Science and Research), the Austrian Central Bank, the Council of Vienna and other institutions. About one third of the Institute’s budget is gained from research contracts.
The Institute for Advanced Studies is a postgraduate research and education institution which trains highly qualified young scientists and managers. Young graduates can obtain further qualifications in economics and social sciences from internationally renowned visiting professors. Those working at the Institute are given the opportunity to work over a broad and flexible field and also take part in projects outside their own areas of study. The fields of work are: quarterly forecasts of the Austrian and international economy; medium-term prognosis at the end of the year; Austria LINK Model; labor and capital market; integration into European Community; integration in Eastern Europe and macroeconomic development of Eastern Europe; sectors of the economy (agriculture and forestry, power supply, etc.); migration; social survey; education policy; studies on democracy; research about social inequality; environmental relations, and many more.