Land for Debt
Constitutional patriotism in Europe
Green Shift
Moneyball?
Global Minimum Tax
First It’s Mine, then It’s Yours
The Power of the (New) Media
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Economic War Between East and West

In 2018, China cancelled a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s debt in return for the long-term lease of a port in a strategically important location. This example of debt-trap diplomacy shows how creditors try to gain both influence and strategically important land. It has generated much interest, both among policy makers and academics. In this talk, we examine how prominent such land-for-debt deals are, which creditor countries pursue them, and why some debtor governments agree to such deals while others reject them.

Lecture:

Jonas Bunte, Professor at the WU and Head of Institute for International Political Economy, Department of Socio-Economics, WU Vienna

How important are individual countries’ constitutional principles in the EU? How important is constitutional patriotism in Europe? What’s the role of the constitutional courts, and how can tensions with European courts be addressed? The president of the French Constitutional Council and the president of Austria’s Constitutional Court will be discussing the role of constitutional courts in Europe, offering fascinating first-hand insights.

Discussion:

Laurent Fabius, President of the French Constitutional Council

Christoph Grabenwarter, President of the Austrian Constitutional Court, Professor at the Institute for European and International Law, WU Vienna

Ursula Plassnik, former Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Austrian Ambassador to Bern and Paris

Moderated by:

Anne-Catherine Simon, journalist for the daily newspaper “Die Presse”

A “Green Shift” is definitely needed to tackle the climate crisis. Rising awareness of global environmental challenges has led the European Central Bank (ECB) to decide on an action plan to include climate change considerations into its policy framework. But is this huge policy shift really justified, if the ECB’s main task is to maintain price stability? With experts from the public and private sector, we will shed light on the scope of the ECB’s single price stability mandate during the global climate crisis.

Keynote:

Gottfried Haber, Vice Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Georg von Pfoestl, Principal, Arthur D. Little

Discussion:

Marc Beckmann, Researcher, Positive Money Europe

Gottfried Haber, Vice Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Heike Lehner, Research Analyst, Agenda Austria

Georg von Pfoestl, Principal, Arthur D. Little

Moderated by:

Marianne Hug, MSc. Economics student, WU Vienna

Many strategies used successfully in sports can be transferred to management. But the exchange of ideas between sports and management research is still very limited in Austria. This event will feature panelists Nina Burger and Sebastian Prödl, two former top athletes who are now working at the interface between sports and management. We’ll also be presenting recent studies carried out at the intersection of these two fields and show how sports and management can learn from each other.

Lecture:

Ana Dijakovic, PhD candidate/Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Jakob Müllner, Associate Professor, Institute for International Business, WU Vienna

Jonas Puck, Full Professor, Institute for International Business, WU Vienna

Discussion:

Nina Burger, former athlete

Ana Dijakovic, PhD candidate/Consultant, McKinsey & Company

Sebastian Prödl, former athlete

Jonas Puck, Full Professor, Institute for International Business, WU Vienna

Moderated by:

Helga Pattart-Drexler, WU Vienna & Techhouse 

The 15% global minimum corporate tax rate is a reality. It was adopted in October 2021 to make sure that multinational enterprises don’t pay less than the global minimum tax rate. The G20 countries hailed this as a historic step to finally bring about tax justice for large multinationals. But does the reality live up to the promise? Are there any loopholes? Together with academic, business, and consulting experts, we’ll be examining whether the minimum tax actually makes international taxation fair(er).

Lecture and Moderation:

Matthias Petutschnig, Associate Professor of Accounting and Taxation, WU

Discussion:

Dominik Bernhofer, Tax Policy Divsion, Vienna Chamber of Labor

Iris Burgstaller, Partner, International Tax and Transfer Pricing, TPA

Ralf Kronberger, Financial, Fiscal and Tax Policy Division, WKO

Thomas Thomasberger, Head of Taxes, CEE, Siemens AG Austria

Sharing instead of throwing away, reusing instead of buying new – everyone can help to make the world a bit more sustainable. What are the psychological mechanisms at play in the second-hand marketplace? What are the options, and who profits? These are just some of the questions we’ll be discussing with experts from academia and business. Before the event, at 5:00pm, you will have the opportunity to take a closer look at the WU University Library’s new POP collection (Possession, Ownership, Property).

Lecture:

Bernadette Kamleitner, Institute Head and Professor, Institute for Marketing & Consumer Research, WU

Panel discussion:

Sylvia Dellantonio, Managing Director of willhaben

Nunu Kaller, author, communications and sustainability consultant, THINK kallerful

Bernadette Kamleitner, Institute Head and Professor, Institute for Marketing & Consumer Research, WU

Moderated by:

Andreas Obrecht, sociologist, ORF Ö1

The media are powerful. They act as commentators, critical voices, and watchdogs. As the “fourth branch of government,” the media influence politics and society. But media consumption is changing. Traditional outlets such as newspapers, TV, and radio are losing ground to digital, highly personalized channels. Does selective media consumption lead to an increase in fake news and conspiracy theories? What’s the media’s response? How independent are they? We’ll be discussing the power of the media and its limits.

Lecture:

Lisa-Marie Idowu, Research Project Staff Member, Institute for Communication Management and Media, WU

Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, Professor, Head of the Department of Foreign Language Business Communication, WU Vienna

Discussion:

Fritz Hausjell, Department Vice-Chair, Department of Communication, University of Vienna

Lisa-Marie Idowu, Research Project Staff Member, Institute for Communication Management and Media, WU

Alin Ionesi, marswalk, CMO & Co-Founder

Anneliese Rohrer, journalist

Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, Professor, Head of the Department of Foreign Language Business Communication, WU Vienna

Moderated by:

Anna-Maria Wallner, „Die Presse“

Despite the fact that the issue of diversity has been in the public eye for many years, practitioners and academia are still not always on the same wavelength. New political and economic developments – both national and international – have reshuffled the cards on concrete policies with respect to gender, migration background, religion, and sexual orientation. With specialists in the field, we will discuss current and new challenges, and evaluate proposed solutions for the near future.

Discussion:

Lulua Asaad, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Office, UNODC (UN Office on Drugs & Crime)

Magdalena Christandl, Project Officer Human Rights, Labour and Gender Equality, Global Compact Network Austria

Monika Froehler, Chief Executive Officer, Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens

Barbara Liegl, Managing Director, ZARA Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work

Ursula Struppe, Head of Department - Integration und Diversity, City of Vienna

Moderated by:

Marie-Thérèse Claes, Professor for Gender & Diversity in Organizations, WU

Jurgen Willems, Professor for Public Management & Governance, WU

The US, the EU, and other allies have responded to Russia’s attack on Ukraine with severe economic sanctions. What will it take to make these sanctions work? What is the price for Russia, what is the price for the West? How are the costs of the sanctions distributed? What are the lessons to be learned for the world economy? So many questions. This lecture seeks to provide tentative answers based on game theory, empirical literature on sanctions, and trade policy models.

Lecture:

Gabriel Felbermayr, Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO); Professor of Economic Policy, WU

Discussion:

Christoph Badelt, President of the Austrian Fiscal Advisory Council

Gabriel Felbermayr, Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO); Professor of Economic Policy, WU

Moderated by:

Karin Heitzmann, Co-Head of the Research Institute for the Economics of Inequality, WU