An analysis of the Hamburg metropolis

CHE Consult has conducted a study on Hamburg as a business location for the ‘Hamburg Vor Zur Welt’ initiative. It shows that Hamburg often performs worse in key areas compared to other European metropolitan regions.

According to our study, the Port of Hamburg is recording declining handling figures and investment in research and development is lagging behind other metropolitan regions. The proportion of STEM subjects at Hamburg’s universities is also relatively low and the gross value added per inhabitant is lower. Overall, the importance of Hamburg as a business location has declined in many rankings.

The new initiative is now calling on Hamburg to utilise its potential and redefine the city as a leading centre for science, innovation and business. The following recommendations for action can be derived from our study:

• Promotion of research and development: Investment in research and development must be significantly increased in order to boost productivity.
• Establishment and promotion of new economic clusters: The establishment of new research and productivity-intensive companies should be promoted.
• Improving the transfer of knowledge: The transfer of knowledge between public research and companies must be improved.
• Strengthening start-ups: The framework conditions for start-ups must be improved in order to promote start-up activity.
• Expansion of universities: Universities, especially the Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology, must be expanded in order to strengthen the knowledge base and secure future skilled labour.
• Internationalisation of universities: The internationalisation of universities must be driven forward in order to make the city more attractive for international students and academics*.
• Improving the quality of life: The quality of life in the city must be improved by investing in education, reorganising administration and securing affordable housing.
• Expanding the transport infrastructure: The transport infrastructure must be improved in order to better connect the city to the rest of the world.

Go to study (German)