Research at the Institute
Research in economic geography in Hannover is primarily concerned with regional economic structural change in countries and regions at different levels of development (e.g. Europe, North America, Southeast Asia). Research here focuses in particular on the digitalisation of the economy, entrepreneurship and business start-ups, global environmental change and sustainable development, mobility, knowledge and innovation, as well as economic development and policy-making.
The research in Hannover, which is oriented towards cultural and social geography, focuses primarily on questions of coexistence in the increasingly diverse major cities worldwide. In addition to the theoretical and empirical analysis of social geographies of urban coexistence, we also address questions of financialisation processes in cities of the Global South, memory policies, infrastructures and social cohesion in society, as well as attitudes to and reactions to global (climate) change.
For us, internationality in research means that we put our research results up for discussion internationally and at the same time receive important impulses for our own research through close personal contacts with internationally renowned colleagues and thus keep an eye on the state of research. For this reason, we publish in leading journals such as Regional Studies, Research Policy, Journal of Economic Geography, Economic Geography, Small Business Economics, Cities, Applied Geography, Geoforum or Mobilities. Furthermore, we regularly present our research findings at international conferences such as the European Regional Science Association, the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers or the Geography of Innovation Conference. In addition, we conduct research projects together with foreign colleagues, currently from Shanghai or Los Angeles, for example.
Digitization
- What effects does digitization have on regional disparities?
- How does digitization change location requirements and the spatial embeddedness of firms?
Involved researchers from the institute: Vanessa Blobel, Dmitry Boyko, Chris Brück, Lukas Häfner, Matthias Kapa, Louis Knüpling, Ingo Liefner, Kerstin Schäfer, Rolf Sternberg
Global environmental change and sustainable development
- How do private households and companies react to structural change in a globalised economy affected by global environmental changes?
- To what extent can new technologies and innovations contribute to sustainable development?
Involved researchers from the institute: Julian Barnikol, Chris Brück, Peter Dirksmeier, Lennart Grün, Hauke Kruse, Ingo Liefner, Kerstin Nolte, Leon Worbs
Mobility
- How will the transportation services of the future change the way we move through space? How can we ensure that everyone benefits from new technologies?
- What is the tension between transportation infrastructures and sustainability? Can new transport services create alternatives?
Involved researchers from the institute: Dmitry Boyko, Kerstin Schäfer, Lennart Schott
Economic development and policy
- What strategies and instruments can be used to achieve spatial economic policy goals?
- What role do digitization, environmental protection and innovation play in spatial economic policy?
Involved researchers from the institute: Julian Barnikol, Chris Brück, Lukas Häfner, Karolin Kautzschmann, Ingo Liefner, Florian Schneider, Rolf Sternberg, Leon Worbs
Knowledge and innovation
- How do new technologies and innovations emerge?
- What regional patterns exist in the creation of knowledge and innovation and why are innovative firms concentrated regionally?
Involved researchers from the institute: Julian Barnikol, Chris Brück, Christoph Friedrich, Lennart Grün, Lukas Häfner, Anne-Sophie Kagel, Matthias Kapa, Louis Knüpling, Ingo Liefner, Kerstin Schäfer, Florian Schneider, Lennart Schott, Rolf Sternberg, Leon Worbs
