ABSTRACT
The difference between the so-called Technologielücke and the good performance of the Austrian economy causes Michael Peneder from the Osterreichischen Institutfu r Wirtschaftsforschung to talk of a structure-performance paradox. After some critical remarks about the way Austrian inventors have been treated in Austrian historiography, Weitensfelder presents two case studies on Karl Auer von Welsbach and Viktor Kaplan, two of the most prominent inventors of the nineteenth century. Besides a number of different aspects influencing the financial activities of nineteenth century Austrians, Michael Pammer can distinguish groups of both traditional and innovative investors. Although Rupert Pichler presents a broad and detailed study of the trade and tariff policies of the Habsburg governments in the nineteenth century, only little is said about their influence on innovations. Wolfgang Neurath wants to know how strongly Austrian researchers and research institutions are already interconnected with each other, and pleads for the creation of a national innovative network.
