Synopses & Reviews
This book analyzes the relative importance of small firms in developed Western nations and Eastern Europe, identifying their exact role and how this role has evolved over the past fifteen years. It reveals that there has been a consistent shift away from large firms and toward small enterprises within the manufacturing sectors of all Western countries, while the role of small firms in Eastern European nations has been remarkably restricted, suggesting that a major challenge for reform in Central and Eastern Europe is to create the strong entrepreneurial sector that exists in the West.
Synopsis
This book analyses the relative importance of small firms in developed Western nations and Eastern Europe, identifying their exact role and how this role has evolved over the last fifteen years.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch; 2. Industrial concentration and small firms in the United Kingdom: the 1980s in historical perspective Alan Hughes; 3. The role of small firms in West Germany Michael Fritsch; 4. Has the role of small firms changed in the United States? Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch; 5. Recent developments in the firm-size distribution and economies of scale of Dutch manufacturing Roy Thurik; 6. Small firms in Portuguese manufacturing industries Jose Mata; 7. Small firms in the Italian economy: structural changes and evidence of turbulence B. Incernizzi and R. Revelli; 8. The role of small firms in Czechoslovak manufacturing Gerald A. McDermott and Michal Mejstrik; 9. The evolution of small business in East Germany Hans-Gerd Bannasch; 10. The implications of the Polish economic reform for small business: evidence from Gdansk Simon Johnson and Gary Loveman; 11. The development experience and government policies: lessons for Eastern Europe? Hans-Peter Brunner; 12. Conclusion Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch.