Recent decades have seen substantial growth in the range of assistance programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs across the world. Once regarded as peripheral to the economy and public policy, the role of small firms and of entrepreneurship is now recognized as of key importance in the economic growth and development strategies of many nations. The range of interventions and support focused on promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship is substantial and expanding, so Government, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development asks 'what are some of the main policy instruments being used, and how effective are they?' It considers policies in different countries, examines key interventions and tools used to promote entrepreneurship and SME development and concludes with contributions on how to best evaluate their effectiveness. The contributor chapters by academics and practitioners from businesses, enterprise development agencies and governments, are empirical or evidence-based and use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Drawing on experience from a wide range of both developed and emerging countries and economies, the contributions focus on the broad strategies that different governments and communities have adopted to foster entrepreneurship and SMEs; the policy tools and instruments that can be used to promote small business and entrepreneurship; and on the outcomes of policy instruments and the methods used to evaluate interventions. Their findings will help researchers, policy-makers, economic development officers, civil servants, elected officials, and business associations to better understand the issues in this important field.

After the dramatic flourishing of small scale enterprises in the 1980s can the coming decade support and sustain the small business? The socio-economic restructuring of Britain allowed small businesses to thrive but the way ahead looks less favourable. Factors such as demographic trends and technological developments threaten the economic future of the small firm. The analyses provided by this collection give an insight into the rapid expansion that has taken place and pinpoints the key issues for the future. While some areas, such as banking, are slowly adapting more positively to the increase in small businesses, other factors, like the changing structure of the labour force are likely to erode the stability of the small-scale enterprise. This book shows that new policies need to be developed to ensure that the small firms receive the support they need to succeed in an environment where the risks are increasing. The contributors look at the area from economic and sociological standpoints and cover topics such as ethnic minorities, working from home, gender, franchise relationships and cultural issues. This book should be of interest to lecturers and students of small businesses,

After the dramatic flourishing of small scale enterprises in the 1980s can the coming decade support and sustain the small business? The socio-economic restructuring of Britain allowed small businesses to thrive but the way ahead looks less favourable. Factors such as demographic trends and technological developments threaten the economic future of the small firm. The analyses provided by this collection give an insight into the rapid expansion that has taken place and pinpoints the key issues for the future. While some areas, such as banking, are slowly adapting more positively to the increase in small businesses, other factors, like the changing structure of the labour force are likely to erode the stability of the small-scale enterprise. This book shows that new policies need to be developed to ensure that the small firms receive the support they need to succeed in an environment where the risks are increasing. The contributors look at the area from economic and sociological standpoints and cover topics such as ethnic minorities, working from home, gender, franchise relationships and cultural issues. This book should be of interest to lecturers and students of small businesses,

Recent decades have seen substantial growth in the range of assistance programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs across the world. Once regarded as peripheral to the economy and public policy, the role of small firms and of entrepreneurship is now recognized as of key importance in the economic growth and development strategies of many nations. The range of interventions and support focused on promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship is substantial and expanding, so Government, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development asks 'what are some of the main policy instruments being used, and how effective are they?' It considers policies in different countries, examines key interventions and tools used to promote entrepreneurship and SME development and concludes with contributions on how to best evaluate their effectiveness. The contributor chapters by academics and practitioners from businesses, enterprise development agencies and governments, are empirical or evidence-based and use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Drawing on experience from a wide range of both developed and emerging countries and economies, the contributions focus on the broad strategies that different governments and communities have adopted to foster entrepreneurship and SMEs; the policy tools and instruments that can be used to promote small business and entrepreneurship; and on the outcomes of policy instruments and the methods used to evaluate interventions. Their findings will help researchers, policy-makers, economic development officers, civil servants, elected officials, and business associations to better understand the issues in this important field.