EconStat Alumni Letter

Memories of Days at the Faculty of Economics and Statistics

I studied at the University of Innsbruck during an economically and politically decisive period of European integration following the fall of the Iron Curtain. I associate my studies with intense and controversial discussions on European integration with the professors of the time. In Theresia Theurl we had a dedicated lecturer who provided plenty of room for spirited debate on the proposals for monetary union that were circulating at the time. We countered her skepticism – grounded in the failed European monetary unions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries – with the youthful enthusiasm and pro-European conviction of the late 20th century.

In an extremely exciting time in economic policy, our studies provided me with an excellent understanding of the economic concepts on which the EU is built today. I am proud and pleased that I am now contributing within the Eurosystem to the further development of the EU and its institutional framework.

Short Biography

Julia Wörz is Head of the Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe Division at the Economics Analysis and Research Department of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). Her strong interest in European integration and international economics drives her to provide high-quality research output as a vital input into sound policy-making. She is responsible for coordinating the OeNB’s macroeconomic and macrofinancial monitoring and risk assessment activities concerning Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries and manages OeNB’s research activities on CESEE related topics, including the OeNB Euro Survey.  In addition to her duties at OeNB she is teaching European monetary policy at the University of Innsbruck. Prior to joining the OeNB in May 2008, she had been staff economist at The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) since 2001 where she collaborated in various research projects, co-organized events and co-founded the seminar series “International Economics.”

Julia Wörz is a graduate (class of 1995) of the study program “International Business & Economics” at the University of Innsbruck. She holds a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Vienna and received the venia docendi from the University of Innsbruck in 2012. She has (co)authored numerous scientific articles on international economics, economic growth and forecasting published in peer-reviewed journals, i.a. in Economics of Transition, Empirica, Journal of International Economics, Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv / Review of World Economics, International Journal of Forecasting. Between 200-2025, Julia Wörz was associate editor of Empirica, the Journal of the Austrian Economic Association.

Further Information and Contact

• https://www.oenb.at/Geldpolitik/Forschung/oekonominnen/julia-woerz.html