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IfM Bonn News

Press releaseNUI-Regionenranking: Leverkusen löst Landkreis München an der Spitze ab

Die kreisfreie Stadt Leverkusen hat nach 5 Jahren den Landkreis München an der Spitze des NUI-Regionenrankings abgelöst. Auf den weiteren Plätzen folgen die kreisfreien Städte Baden-Baden, Rosenheim und Offenbach am Main sowie der Landkreis Starnberg.

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Press releaseWeiterhin mehr Betriebsgründungen mit Arbeitsplatzangebot als Schließungen

Im 1. Halbjahr dieses Jahres wurden in Deutschland mehr Betriebe einer Hauptniederlassung gegründet (46.000) als geschlossen (34.000). Darunter fallen Gründungen mit einem Handelsregister- bzw. Handwerksrolleneintrag oder mit mindestens einem abhängig Beschäftigten.

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Press releaseThe Maternity Protection Act does not apply to self-employed women

Around 27,000 self-employed women have born a child each year. Unlike women in regular employment, they are not entitled to maternity benefits under the Maternity Protection Act, as it does not apply to them. However, they can voluntarily secure their income during the maternity leave periods before …

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PodcastsNew IfM podcast: "SMEs, climate protection and digitalisation. How rele-vant is regulatory policy to the challenges we currently face?"

Regulatory policy is often neglected in the debate about the challenges of the digital transformation and the fight against climate change.

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External publicationsFemale entrepreneurship in times of multiple challenges

Have women-led businesses been more impaired by the coronavirus pandemic than men-led businesses? Did female entrepreneurs use support measures to the same extent as their male counterparts?

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Press releaseThe economic contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises remains high despite the current crises

More than 3.4 million companies in Germany are classified as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) according to the European Commission's definition of SMEs. This is more than 99% of all private sector businesses in Germany.

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Participation in external eventsIfM scientist appointed to jury

Dr Teita Bijedić-Krumm has been appointed to the jury for the federal competition ʺZukunft Regionʺ organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. The target of the competition is to strengthen the economic power of structurally weak German regions.

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IfM PublicationsSME Development Indicator of the IfM Bonn

How do small and medium-sized enterprises develop in Germany – and in Europe? Are SMEs in Germany facing the same challenges as small and medium-sized enterprises in other EU countries?

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Press releaseMicro enterprises find it increasingly difficult to recruit apprentices

In the competition for apprentices, micro enterprises (with fewer than 10 employees subject to social security contributions) are increasingly falling behind. Despite a slight increase in the total number of apprentices to over 1.5 million, there were 3.4% fewer apprentices employed in these micro …

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External publicationsWelfare provision for hybrid self-employed persons

There is recurring public concern that hybrid self-employed may not be sufficiently socially protected due to the different social security systems for paid employees and the self-employed.

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IfM PublicationsThe influence of personality traits on regional innovation capability

Do individual characteristics of the Big Five personality patterns have an impact on the development of innovation in structurally disadvantaged regions? Leonie Reher, Dr Jörg Thomä and Dr Petrik Runst analyse this question in their policy brief "Patterns of personality: An explanatory approach to …

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Press releaseReform of public procurement helps reduce bureaucracy, whereas the legal form of a limited liability company (GmbH) with tied assets is seen critically

According to the researchers at IfM Bonn, the Federal Government's goal to simplify, expedite, and digitize procurement law is a step in the right direction: The planned Growth Initiative aims to reduce bureaucratic effort for both clients and contractors in future procurement procedures. …

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External publicationsHow enterprises become Hidden Champions

When companies engage in own research and development, are internationally active and seek to maximise their market share, the chances of becoming a hidden champion increase.

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Press releaseThe Bavarian initiative can only be a first step in the redesign of public procurement

"In principle, we welcome that the Bavarian state government aims to simplify public procurement in municipal construction by expanding the upper limits for direct awards" explained Sebastian Schneider, one of the authors of the IfM study "Mittelstand-Friendly Design of Public Tenders".

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Guests at the IfMCrafts and artificial intelligence

What opportunities exist for craft businesses to use artificial intelligence (AI) in their day-to-day work? How can this make things easier for companies?

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