DIW Weekly Report No. 26, 2017
Berlin was also the founding capital of Germany in 2016.
Per capita, significantly more businesses were opened both in comparison to the national average and in comparison to other large cities such as Hamburg.
While the total number of start-ups in the federal government has continued to decline steadily since 2011, this downward trend was stopped in Berlin: In 2016 a similar number of people started their own business as in 2015.
The SME Survey 2016 was conducted from August to September on behalf of Berliner Sparkasse / Landesbank Berlin. The responses of 1,200 representatives of small and medium-sized companies from the region were evaluated.
In the context of this survey, the companies were asked about the currently prevailing business climate and their future expectations regarding obstacles, challenges and investment and financing plans.
Regional economic demand effects and regional growth effects through research and teaching
On behalf of the University of Jena, DIW Econ has investigated the regional economic effects of the university with regard to value creation and employment as well as innovation-based economic development.
Berlin remains Germany’s founding capital
The start-up dynamics in Berlin remain at a high level, but with a declining trend. Employment prospects on the labour market have improved significantly. It is therefore not surprising that there has been a marked decline in the number of small businesses being set up to full-time employment. The number of “genuine company start-ups” in Berlin can be described as pleasingly high.
DIW Econ has examined the economic significance of the gypsum industry in the southern Harz region. The study, commissioned by the Bundesverband der Gipsindustrie e.V. (Federal Association of the Gypsum Industry), concludes that the three locations of the companies CASEA GmbH (Ellrich), Knauf Deutsche Gipswerke KG (Rottleberode) and Saint-Gobain Formula GmbH (Walkenried) provided a gross value added of more than 92 million euros as well as more than 1,300 jobs in the Southern Harz region in 2014.