New study Why the university is a significant economic factor in Bonn
Bonn · According to a study, the university contributes significantly to Bonn's economic well-being. Researchers have therefore warned against relocating the university to the outskirts of the city.
With its 33,000 students and 7500 employees, the University of Bonn not only does its fair share of research but is also of significant economic importance for the city and the surrounding region: every 25th job in Bonn is linked to the university, the study says. This is the conclusion of a survey commissioned by the University of Bonn and now presented by the Economica Institute. The study also warns against the negative effects of relocating parts of the university's operations from the city centre to the periphery.
The scientific study shows "how enormous the economic significance of the University of Bonn is," university rector Michael Hoch explained in response to a GA enquiry. "In addition to our excellent research for the progress of society, we secure thousands of stable jobs in the entire Bonn region and beyond and contribute significantly to prosperity, value creation and purchasing power for the benefit of all."
According to study director Christian Helmenstein, the University of Bonn was responsible for a gross value added of around 700 million euros in the last pre-Covid year 2019, meaning that it generates every 40th euro of gross value added in Bonn. "Beyond its 7500 employees, the University of Bonn secures a total of around 10 700 jobs in its supply and service network. This puts it on a par with the leading global companies listed in the Dax, Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post," says economist Helmenstein. Because the proportion of employees with university degrees is particularly high, the University of Bonn also pays above-average salaries - which is a significant purchasing power factor.
Last but not least, the public sector benefits from the economic power of the university, which receives almost 300 million euros in taxes annually from the university's day-to-day operations. "The population of Bonn would have to raise an additional 900 euros per capita per year to balance this tax contribution," says the economist. What applies to the city in terms of economic benefits also applies to the surrounding region, because more than half of the direct jobs at the university are held by commuters. Helmenstein: "Around 2100 employees from the Rhein-Sieg district surrounding Bonn work at the university and account for a fifth of its value added."
The Economica team also investigated the effects of relocating teaching in the humanities faculties to Bonn's outskirts. Helmenstein says: "The university is not only economically relevant for the city of Bonn as a whole, but above all for its city centre: If these 10000 students would no longer study in the city centre, but in more outlying districts, 170 jobs and almost 15 million euros of gross value added per year would be lost in the city centre, according to our model calculations." Above all, art and culture, entertainment and recreation, retail and hospitality would be affected.
Rector Hoch sees this as confirmation of his warnings regarding the relocation of the university: "If most of the teaching for around 10,000 students no longer takes place at the Schloss, this will be highly detrimental, not least to the city centre."
(buj/lis) - Translation: Jean Lennox
