Evaluation of an Expert Survey (Economic Experts Survey) on Business Location Competition

Tasks

• Where does Germany stand today in the international location competition?
• How has Germany's attractiveness as a business location developed over the last ten years and how is it expected to develop over the next ten years?
• Which factors are mainly responsible for these developments?

The study aims to answer these and other questions relating to international location competition. The data basis is the Economic Experts Survey (EES), a survey of around 8,000 economic experts from more than 130 countries conducted jointly by the ifo institute and the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy. As part of the study, the assessments of German experts in particular are analyzed and compared with those of European or international experts.

Methods

The results of the study are presented descriptively with the help of maps and diagrams.

Data and other sources

Economic Experts Survey (EES) Q3 2023.

Results

Overall, the expert survey paints a sobering picture of Germany as a business location. Almost half of the German experts predict that Germany will become less attractive as a business location over the next ten years. In light of the past ten years, the experts believe that Germany's position in the international competition between business locations will continue to deteriorate. According to our survey, reducing bureaucracy is by far the most important area of action for policymakers, followed by investment in infrastructure and facilitating (labour) migration.