Capital Cities: Understanding Wealth Concentration in the Startup Ecosystems of Berlin and Paris

Capital Cities is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation’s Perspectives on Wealth program that investigates the societal foundations and role of wealth in two leading European startup ecosystems: Paris and Berlin. Adopting a comparative perspective, the project brings together sociologists (TU Berlin) and entrepreneurship scholars (University of Wuppertal) to examine how different actor groups shape the startup activity within these ecosystems.

Research Focus

The project investigates how wealth is created, used, and concentrated within startup ecosystems. Particular attention is paid to the perspectives of investors, founders, entrepreneurial support organizations, and political actors.

Methodology

The research project follows an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. The investigation of the startup ecosystems in Berlin and Paris is based, among other things, on qualitative interviews, participant observation, and the analysis of supplementary data.

Publications

Coming soon

Further information: https://capitalcities.eu