University Lecture - The Seven Secrets of Germany

Prof. Dr. David B. Audretsch
Ameritech Chair of Economic Development, Indiana University, USA
Director, Institute for Development Strategies

German economic performance has astonished the world. At the turn of the century, Germany had been written off as the sick man of Europe. No more. Even as most of its European neighbors and OECD trading partners have struggled in the face of a turbulent global economy, the German economy has thrived. How does Germany do it? What is the secret? In their book “The Seven Secrets of Germany”, authors David Audretsch and Erik Lehmann answer these very questions. On Wednesday, September 20 at 5:15 pm, the renowned economist David B. Audretsch is giving a university lecture at Jacobs University’s Conference Hall, followed by a discussion. This lecture is open to the public, entrance is free.  

Professor Audretsch will discuss seven factors that contribute to this development. They range from the key and strategic role played by small firms to world leadership in its skilled and trained labor force, an ability to harness global opportunities through leveraging local resources, public infrastructure, the capacity to deal with change and confront challenges in a flexible manner, and the emergence of a remarkably positive identity and image.

The Seven Secrets of Germany have insulated the country from long-term economic deterioration and enabled it to take advantage of the opportunities afforded from globalization rather than succumbing as a victim to globalization. This insights can be instructive to other countries and refute the defeatist view that globalization leads to an inevitable deterioration of the standard of living, quality of life, and degree of economic prosperity.
 
David B. Audretsch is a Distinguished Professor and Ameritech Chair of Economic Development at Indiana University, where he also serves as Director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He also is an Honorary Professor of Industrial Economics and Entrepreneurship at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. Audretsch's research is focused on the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development and global competitiveness. He is co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal. He is a member of the Advisory Board to a number of international research and policy institutes, including Chair of the Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung Berlin (German Institute for Economic Analysis Berlin), Chair of the Stifterverband fuer die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Foundation for the Promotion of German Science), New York Academy of Sciences.