Amsterdam, Netherlands - SEO Economisch Onderzoek

sustainability cluster. This reduces the scope for targeted action by regional stakeholdersinterested in furthering the goal of sustainable development.Concerning the position of HEIs in this field, joint projects like New Energy Docks are currentlystarting to emerge. However, there is little cooperation among the HEIs when it concernssustainable development for their internal organizations.A further weakness is entrepreneurship. Most entrepreneurs in the creative cluster are singleperson firms. This may point at a lack of entrepreneurship which is needed to expand a firm. Forthe sector to become a job generating machine, entrepreneurship must be strengthened.OpportunitiesOpportunities for the HEIs and the region abound in this field. The HEIs in the cultural complexhave a large output in terms of graduates which form the breeding soil for new cultural andeconomic activity in the region. It will prove a challenge to fully exploit this potential. Here theknife may cut both ways. Entrepreneurship emerging from the creative sector may become anengine for innovation and job growth. The extensive cultural complex improves the attractivenessof the metropolitan area as a living environment and so improves the comparative advantage ofthe region in the world economy. Amsterdam seems well placed to become one of RichardFlorida’s ‘global talent magnets’ (Florida, 2005: 169). Finally, the world wide trend towardssustainability provides an opportunity for developing this sector as a new cluster with strongeconomic potential.ThreatsThe main threat lies in the field of social development. Global competiveness fosters a process ofskill-biased economic growth. This may cause a relative deterioration of the lower end of thelabor market. The byproduct of this labor market effect may be mounting social problems inneighborhoods with a large concentration of economically disadvantaged groups. In theAmsterdam metropolitan area there are several of such neighborhoods.115