@article {10.34196/ijm.00328,
article_type = {journal},
title = {Inflation and Government Response – Distributional Impact on Austrian Households},
author = {Eckerstorfer, Paul and Riegler, Markus and Sindermann, Friedrich},
volume = 18,
number = 3,
year = 2025,
month = {dec},
pub_date = {2025-12-11},
pages = {132-154},
citation = {IJM 2025;18(3):132-154},
doi = {10.34196/ijm.00328},
url = {https://doi.org/10.34196/ijm.00328},
abstract = {Austrian consumer prices rose by 8.6\% in 2022, followed by a 7.8\% increase in 2023, with projections indicating a 4.0\% rise in 2024. In response, the Austrian government introduced various support measures targeted at households, amounting to between 1.3\% and 1.6\% of GDP per year from 2022 to 2024. We use the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD and statistically matched data from the Household Budget Survey to analyse the effects on disposable income and expenditures. Households with lower income are on average more heavily affected by inflation, primarily because of their higher average propensity to consume. In total, relief is disproportionally allocated to the upper half of the income distribution in absolute terms, but relative to income it is higher in the lower deciles. Together with nominal increases in other sources of income, on average, households receive enough income to cover their additional expenditures. However, as there is significant heterogeneity across households, this result does not hold for all households, particularly not for those in the lower parts of the income distribution.},
keywords = {microsimulation, redistribution, inflation, taxes , transfers},
journal = {IJM},
issn = {1747-5864},
publisher = {International Journal of Microsimulation},
}