Small Firms and Entrepreneurship: An East-West Perspective

by Zoltan J. Acs, David B. Audretsch

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521431156
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/11/1993
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; List of contributors; Acknowledgements; 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 economics of scale in Dutch manufacturing Roy Thurik; 6. Small firms in Portuguese manufacturing industries José Mata; 7. Small firms and the Italian economy: structural changes and evidence of turbulence B. Invernizzi and Riccardo 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; Index.

Editorial Reviews

Review of the hardback: '… studded with interesting ideas and insights … A useful addition to the still small number of books available on international comparisons of the role of small and medium enterprises.' Small Business Perspective

From the Publisher