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Austria The Professions
The Regulation of the Professions (Gewerbeordnung) plays as
important a role as do the chambers. The term Gewerbe,
which can theoretically mean any kind of economic activity except
large-scale production and services, is a concept that descended
to modern Austria from the medieval system of crafts, guilds, and
services. The term has no English equivalent but can best be
described as the exercise of a particular profession or economic
activity.
The Gewerbeordnung is a system that regulates the way a
profession is exercised. The system, which regulates about 220
forms of economic activity, established certain standards: entry
into a profession; operating regulations; methods for limiting
price competition; rules governing permissible advertisement;
exclusive franchises and licenses; shop-opening and price
competition rules; market access controls; capital requirements;
and local monopolies. In a variety of instances, the rules also
provide for exemption from cartel law regulations (although the
cartel law does not prohibit cartels but their abuse). Firms
covered by these and similar regulations account for about 40
percent of total value added and investment in Austria and 45
percent of total employment. These firms are involved in such
matters as professional services, wholesale and retail trade,
insurance, banking, capital services, telecommunications, energy,
and transportation.
The effect of the rules is to reduce competition in certain
fields and to shelter those already admitted in these fields from
excessive access as well as predatory practices by others,
especially by larger firms. In a small country such as Austria,
with many small villages and communities, the system serves
largely to preserve the existing structure of economic activity
and the position of local service providers who were established
first in a community. It also protects consumers and others
against fraudulent or unqualified service providers.
The chambers are the principal instruments that obtain
protection or other forms of sheltered operation, largely because
the chambers participate actively in the political process and
are in the best position to make group or sector concerns felt at
the national or provincial level. Some of these arrangements,
such as sectoral support programs for transportation, mining,
cement or paper, are still in effect, while others, such as those
for textiles, clothing, leather, and paper, have been abolished.
Data as of December 1993
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