Small Firms in Regional Economic Development: Britain, Ireland and the United States

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Small Firms in Regional Economic Development: Britain, Ireland and the United States
Authors and Contributors      Edited by David John Storey
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:244
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreRegional geography
ISBN/Barcode 9780521125581
ClassificationsDewey:338.6420941
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 17 December 2009
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Major changes have taken place in the attitude of governments towards small firms. Public encouragement of the small firm is not, however, without its pitfalls and in this collection of essays (first published in 1985) the contribution of small businesses to economic development is assessed in a number of different localities. The authors show that public policies designed to influence a wide variety of small businesses are doomed to failure. Entrepreneurial independence, contrasting regional prosperity and the variable rate of response to central policy initiatives are amongst the factors mitigating against the success of such a policy. The small business is not to be seen as a panacea for solving the economic development problems of areas suffering from high rates of unemployment, and their overall conclusion is that assistance to small firms should be more selective than is customarily the norm.