Budapest a top-performing knowledge centre!

According to The Geography of Europe’s Brain Business Jobs, the latest report from the European Centre for Policy Reform and Entrepreneurship (ECEPR), supported by NC Advisory AB, advisor to the Nordic Capital funds, Budapest has an unusually high share of employment in ‘brain businesses’ – companies that compete through their brainpower and expertise.   

The new study, which is aimed at businesses and investors making a strategic choice about where to locate or invest, shows that close to 6% of the working age population of Hungary is employed in highly knowledge-intensive companies. This is a higher share than the European average of 5%.

Dr Nima Sanandaji, President of the ECEPR, said that the overall trend is that Central- and Eastern European countries are catching up to Northern and Western Europe.

Weaknesses and strengths

In terms of industry sectors, Hungary is a top-performer when it comes to high-tech manufacturing. The concentration of Brain Business Jobs in this sector is more than twice the European average.

 Another strength is R&D, where Hungary now has more than 50 percent higher concentration of Brain Business Jobs than the European average. Also in design and IT services Hungary has a stronger than average performance. On the other hand, Hungary lags behind the rest of Europe when it comes to areas such as telecom, advertising and market research and publishing.

Changing geography of successful enterprise

Europe is increasingly a skilled-based economy, with growth happening where the brains are. A new generation of IT-specialists, engineers and other knowledge workers are emerging from the universities of Central and Eastern European countries. While some of these talents do move to places such as London and Zurich, many settle in the capital regions of their home countries. The result is that the geography of successful enterprise is changing.

Regional differences

The strongest region in Hungary is the capital region of Budapest.

Here, 10.5% of the working age population is employed in Brain Business Jobs, which is nearly twice the national average. Budapest has a slightly higher Brain Business Jobs concentration than Helsinki. It also ranks higher than Brussels, Vienna, Madrid, Berlin, Sofia, Lisbon, Rome and Warsaw.