Suchergebnisse

THE SMALL FIRM IS INCREASINGLY VIEWED BY GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WESTERN WORLD AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF NEW JOBS. THE NEW FIRM IS THE PARTICULAR FOCUS OF ATTENTION BY POLICY-MAKERS SINCE IT IS VIEWED AS BOTH THE DYNAMIC COMPONENT OF THE SMALL FIRM SECTOR AND ONE WHICH IS AMENABLE TO PUBLIC POLICY. IT IS DEMONSTRATED IN THIS PAPER THAT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN U.K. REGIONS IN TERMS OF SOME ASPECTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WHICH IS DEFINED TO BE PARTLY REFLECTED IN DIFFERENCES IN BIRTH RATES OF NEW FIRMS. THE AUTHORS CONTEND THAT SINCE THE CURRENTLY PROSPEROUS REGIONS ARE THE MOST ENTREPRENEURIAL, EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY EXPLICIT PUBLIC POLICY TO PROMOTE SMALL FIRMS, THEN THE HIGHER THE PROPORTION OF ALL NEW JOBS WHICH ARE CREATED BY THE NEW AND SMALL FIRM SECTOR THE GREATER WILL BE THE GAP BETWEEN THE PROSPEROUS AND THE LESS PROSPEROUS REGIONS. HOWEVER, SINCE THERE IS AN INCREASINGLY ACTIVE PUBLIC POLICY DESIGNED TO CREATE JOBS IN THE SMALL FIRM SECTOR WHICH DOES NOT HAVE ANY EXPLICIT REGIONAL DIMENSION, THE PAPER SHOWS THAT CURRENT POLICY INITIATIVES SERVE TO REINFORCE EXISTING DIFFERENCES. IN SHORT SMALL FIRM POLICY INSTRUMENTS ARE REGIONALLY DIVISIVE.

THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS THE GROWING ECONOMIC ROLE AND CONTINUED ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO THE UK'S SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES), A SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY WHICH IS OVERLOOKED BY COMMENTATORS AND ECONOMISTS. THE RATIONALE UNDERLYING THE UK'S "SME POLICY" IS OUTLINED AND PLACED IN EUROPEAN CONTEXT. IN PARTICULAR, THE AUTHORS CAREFULLY SET OUT THE ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE APPARENTLY SUPPORTING THE VIEW THAT SMALL FIRMS, IN PARTICULAR THOSE CURRENTLY EXPANDING, ARE A KEY "ECONOMIC DRIVER", CREATING JOBS EVEN DURING RECESSIONARY PERIODS. AS SUCH, THE SME SECTOR DESERVES THE EMPHASIS CURRENTLY PLACED UPON IT BY THE RECENT CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT AS A FOCUS OF POLICY INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, WITH REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE SUCH STATEMENTS ARE CAREFULLY DISMANTLED AND SHOWN TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A CLICHE. THE AUTHORS MAKE CLEAR THEIR VIEW THAT POLICY ATTENTION HAS FOCUSED ON THE WRONG AREAS OF THE ECONOMY. EMPHASIS ON DEVELOPING A SMALL FIRM SECTOR HAS DONE LITTLE TO IMPROVE THE UK'S LONG-TERM ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. INDEED, POLICY HAS EXACERBATED REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN THE ECONOMY, CHOKED OFF PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS AND, ABOVE ALL, DONE LITTLE TO BRING DOWN LEVELS OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND PROVIDE "QUALITY" JOBS. THE ARTICLE CONCLUDES THAT IF A SMALL FIRM SECTOR IS TO REMAIN A COMPONENT OF GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC STRATEGY, POLICY NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF TARGETING THOSE FEW FIRMS LIKELY TO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT LEVELS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.