Small and medium enterprises, growth, and poverty : cross-country evidence, Vol. 1 of 1

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Small and medium enterprises, growth, and poverty : cross-country evidence

Author:	Thorsten Beck; ; Ross Levine;	Collection Title:	Policy, Research working paper series ; no. WPS 3178
Country:	World;	Date Stored:	2004/01/21
Document Date:	2003/12/01	Document Type:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English	Region:	The World Region
Report Number:	WPS3178	SubTopics:	Small Scale Enterprise; Environmental Economics & Policies; Governance Indicators; Achieving Shared Growth; Economic Theory & Research; Microfinance; Small and Medium Size Enterprises; Private Participation in Infrastructure
Volume No:	1 of 1

Summary: The authors explore the relationship between the relative size of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, economic growth, and poverty using a new database on the share of SME labor in the total manufacturing labor force. Using a sample of 76 countries, they find a strong association between the importance of SMEs and GDP per capita growth. This relationship, however, is not robust to controlling for simultaneity bias. So, while a large SME sector is characteristic of successful economies, the data fail to support the hypothesis that SMEs exert a causal impact on growth. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that SMEs reduce poverty. Finally, they find qualified evidence that the overall business environment facing both large and small firms-as measured by the ease of firm entry and exit, sound property rights, and contract enforcement-influences economic growth.


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File Type		Description	File Size (mb)

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	PDF 47 pages	WPS3178	0.26

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