The Geography of Europe’s Brain Business Jobs Dr. Nima Sanandaji Prof. Stefan Fölster European Centre for Policy Reform and Entrepreneurship Supported by NC Advisory AB, advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds 1 The Nordics are well known as a dynamic and creative region. As reported by the Telegraph, Stockholm, the Swedish capital, is the world’s second most prolific tech hub on a per capita basis, behind only Silicon Valley. This isn’t a coincidence. Talented professionals thrive in Scandinavia – a fact that has now received further confirmation through the report you are holding in your hands. As an active investor in Europe – particularly in the Nordic region – Nordic Cap- ital’s continuous goal is to develop understanding of the business environment and ways in which it can be improved. We are therefore pleased to have had the opportunity to support this report. Nordic Capital is one of the longest established and most active private equity investors in the Nordic region, and this report ex- pands understanding of brain business jobs – jobs that are crucial for income and productivity growth. This report gives the reader an excellent overview of the various sectors where brain business jobs are found, as well as an allocation of these sectors between countries and capital regions in Europe. The report also sheds light on the shift- ing landscape for knowledge-intensive businesses. On an ever-changing playing field, it is crucial to closely monitor developments to identify ways in which organ- isations can address changes and work to remain one step ahead. The Nordics are top-ranked in the study, with Sweden ranked number one in terms of attracting brain business jobs. This confirms our conviction that Nordic Capital is operating in the right region, not least because the Nordic countries offer a good mix of different sectors to invest in. Our experience also tells us that a high concentration of brain businesses is a breeding ground for creative ideas, R&D inventions, innovative business con- cepts, business ventures, and start-ups – an all-around dynamic economy. This report adds further proof that the Nordic region is currently a highly interesting arena for investments. Nordic Capital’s deep experience and proven track record strengthen our role as a partner in this region, supporting companies and helping them build strong, sustainable businesses. This allows the Nordic Capital Funds to consistently de- liver excellent financial returns to investors across economic cycles. Brain businesses will continue to be a key driver for growth. This report confirms that there are future opportunities for substantive value creation in Nordic Capi- tal’s focus regions and provides definitive support for our focus areas. Stockholm, October 2017 Kristoffer Melinder, Managing Partner, NC Advisory AB, advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds 2 Executive summary Identifying where talent flocks can be crucial for Europe, despite the fact that Slovakia as a nation investors, businesses, as well as people who choose has a mediocre concentration of brain business jobs where to live and work. The fruits of many brains – it ranks 18th amongst 28 European countries. stimulating each other lift businesses. Incomes and living standards tend to grow faster in brain Overall, the top three countries in terms of brain business clusters. Start-ups and technological break- jobs are Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. throughs are more likely to succeed in countries Yet, the capital regions of these three countries are that become hotspots for creative engineers, pro- more dispersed, ranking 2nd, 6th, and 8th respec- grammers, designers and other innovative, knowl- tively in a comparison of European capital regions. edge-intensive specialists. Such innovative hotspots The reason is that in Northern and Western Eu- do not arise simply because many people who live rope, brain business jobs are less centralized in the there have university degrees, or for that matter, capital regions. France is the exception in Western where successful regions have clustered in the past. Europe, since the brain business jobs of the country Instead, hot spots arise where knowledge intensive are highly centralized: Paris ranks just above Lon- firms find the best opportunities for future success don, while France as a country is far behind the and growth. This requires the right mix of business UK. These patterns matter for investors, businesses environment and supply of talent. and talents. In Eastern and Central Europe, as well as in France, the obvious choice for brain business- This report is written for those who want to make a es are the capital regions. In other parts of Europe, strategic choice of where to locate or invest in Eu- it is wise to look also for other regional hubs. rope. Where can they expect to take advantage of the cross-stimulation and growth that takes place in Two distinct groups of successful brain business brain business hotspots? In which European coun- countries emerge. First, high-income countries with tries does brain business abound? Where are knowl- good macroeconomic policies that also invest heavily edge intensive firms likely to grow in the future? in their immaterial capital, tend to do well in terms We map where the brains - the knowledge workers of brain business, and are likely to continue to do so. - of Europe flock to and where investments in their A second group of countries are ”rookies” that more innovative ideas bear fruit. We do this by looking recently have begun pursuing economic policies at detailed enterprise employment statistics in 28 conducive to entrepreneurship and provide attractive different European countries and their respective living conditions. While they often lack established capital regions, examining how many people work in large high-tech firms, they compete with a good sup- specialized knowledge intensive companies. We refer ply of knowledge-intensive experts, lower wages and to these jobs as brain business jobs. Four different easier access to housing and business facilities. The fields of brain business jobs are studied: the tech-sec- rookies are mostly Eastern and Central European tor, ICT, advanced services and creative professions. countries whose capital regions attract many brain These in turn fall into eleven subsectors. business jobs. Bratislava, the overall brain business winner in our capital region ranking, is an example. Some of our findings might come as a surprise to Another is Prague, the capital of the Czech Repub- readers. The geography of brain business jobs in lic, which ranks only one step below Stockholm in Europe evidently no longer follows a simple di- terms of the share of brain business jobs. Upcoming vision between North and South, West and East. countries such as the two small states of Estonia and Many countries in Eastern and Central Europe out- Malta are doing significantly better compared to pace their Southern European fellow EU-members other European countries with a similar geographi- in brain business job intensity. The brain jobs of the cal and historical background. By pursuing growth former planned economies of Eastern and Central policies and actively attracting international busi- Europe tend to be strongly focused to the capital ness, the two countries have leapfrogged in terms of regions. The Slovakian capital region of Bratislava knowledge intensive development. has the highest share of brain business jobs in all of 3 All brain business sectors, jobs per 1 000 working Country Ranking age population 1 Sweden 87.1 2 Denmark 79.1 3 Netherlands 77.0 4 UK 76.1 5 Luxemburg 70.1 6 Germany 65.8 7 Norway 64.5 8 Finland 59.8 9 Austria 56.7 10 Estonia 55.1 11 Slovenia 54.4 12 Belgium 52.7 13 France 52.5 14 Czech Republic 51.4 15 Hungary 50.6 16 Malta 47.3 17 Latvia 46.1 18 Slovakia 44.0 19 Lithuania 41.6 20 Portugal 36.6 21 Italy 36.4 22 Cyprus 35.6 23 Spain 35.1 24 Croatia 35.0 25 Bulgaria 34.3 26 Greece 34.1 27 Poland 30.2 28 Romania 28.8 4 All brain business sectors, jobs per 1 000 working Capital Region Ranking age population 1 Bratislava 179.1 2 Stockholm 167.0 3 Prague 162.9 4 Paris 159.3 5 London 148.1 6 Copenhagen 137.6 7 Oslo 125.3 8 Amsterdam 112.6 9 Bucharest 108.2 10 Helsinki 107.2 11 Wien 105.0 12 Brussels 101.9 13 Budapest 99.6 14 Berlin 95.6 15 Madrid 92.9 16 Sofia 82.6 17 Ljubljana 79.9 18 Lisbon 75.3 19 Warsaw 70.5 20 Luxembourg 70.1 21 Athens 60.6 22 Rome 56.0 23 Estonia 55.1 24 Malta 47.3 25 Latvia 46.1 26 Lithuania 41.6 27 Zagreb 39.4 28 Cyprus 35.6 * Due to their small size, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta encompass a single region according to the NUTS 2 division. The capital region and the country are therefore the same. 5 Table of Content ExecutiveContents summary 3 The quest for brain business hot spots 7 Why do brain business industries matter? 9 The paradox of brain business hubs 11 Mapping Europe’s brain business jobs 13 The definition of brain business jobs 15 All-round innovative brain businesses in top-ranked Sweden 18 Estonia’s digital prowess 20 Immaterial assets – the foundation of brain business 23 Too little mileage out of immaterial investment? 23 European investments in R & D 25 European immaterial property assets 27 The entrepreneurial ecosystems of Europe 30 Country Analysis Austria 33 Belgium 35 Bulgaria 37 Croatia 39 Cyprus 41 Czech Republic 42 Denmark 44 Estonia 46 Finland 47 France 49 Germany 51 Greece 53 Hungary 55 Italy 57 Latvia 59 Lithuania 60 Luxembourg 61 Malta 62 Netherlands 63 Norway 65 Poland 67 Portugal 69 Romania 71 Slovakia 73 Slovenia 75 Spain 77 Sweden 79 UK 81 References 83 6 The quest for brain business hot spots All regions aspire to become hotbeds for innovation and creativity.