The Economics of Small Businesses: An International Perspective (Contributions to Economics Book 0)

"Is small still beautiful? The recent economic and financial crisis has shown that developed countries in which firms are smaller suffered the biggest GDP plunges. Today, economic growth depends more than in the past on sound and well-organized firms, which means more innovation, a better educated labor force, higher likelihood of access to financial resources and efficient investments. This does not mean the end of small-sized firms, but that they need to be different from the way they were in the past. This book provides an international perspective on analyses and policy recommendations for how small businesses can reinforce their role in modern economies"--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contributions to Economics 2 The Economics of Small Businesses 4 ISBN 9783790826227 5 Preface 8 Introduction 10 References 21 Contents 24 Contributors 26 Part I Small Businesses and Innovation: Analyses and Policies 29 1 Innovative Entrepreneurship and Policy: Toward Initiation and Preservation of Growth 31 1.1 Introduction 31 1.2 Policies Relating to Education and Worker and Entrepreneurial Skills 33 1.3 Entrepreneurship-Friendly Immigration Policy 36 1.4 Policies Directly Promoting Innovation and Entrepreneurship 38 1.5 The Availability and Cost of Health Insurance and Entrepreneurship 40 1.6 Regulation, Litigation and Entrepreneurship 42 1.7 Tax Policy and Entrepreneurship 43 1.8 Capital Markets Regulation and Finance 46 1.9 Conclusion 47 References 48 2 State Programs to Promote the Growth of Innovative Firms in the United States -- A Taxonomy 53 2.1 Introduction 53 2.2 A Multiple Market Ecosystem for Developing New Products in a Market Economy 54 2.3 Factors/Forces Affecting the Operation of a Marketplace and Thus the Formation and the Growth of Innovative Businesses (Businesses that Develop New Products) 56 2.4 Poor Performance of New Product Markets--One Major Justification for State Government's Actions in New Product Markets 57 2.5 State Programs to Promote Innovation and the Growth of Innovative Firms in the United States 58 2.6 On the Effectiveness of State Programs in Providing Assistance to Innovative Firms: Brief Remarks 64 2.7 Conclusion 65 Appendix 1 66 Appendix 2 69 References 75 3 OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme: Comparable International Measures of Entrepreneurship and the Factors that Enhance or Impede It 77 3.1 Introduction 77 3.2 The Importance of Entrepreneurship 78 3.3 The Relevance and Role of Entrepreneurship in Government Policy 79 3.4 The Need for Entrepreneurship Data 81 3.5 The Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme (EIP) 82 3.6 Defining Entrepreneurship 82 3.6.1 The Top-Down Approach 84 3.6.2 The Bottom-Up Approach 84 3.6.3 The EIP Entrepreneurship Definitions 85 3.7 The Entrepreneurship Framework 85 3.8 Results from the EIP 88 3.8.1 Structural Indicators 89 3.8.2 Entrepreneurial Performance Indicators 91 3.8.3 Future Directions of Work for the Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme 95 References 96 4 The Peculiarities of SMEs in Europe and Italy: Technology Transfer Policies 97 4.1 Introduction 97 4.2 The Productive Structure of Italian Economy Vs Other Countries' 98 4.3 Enterprises' Small Size and Their Low Innovation and Co-operation Capabilities 100 4.4 The Strategic Relevance of the "Technology Transfer" 104 4.5 The Role of RIDITT in Italy 105 4.6 Concluding Remarks 106 References 107 5 Public Policies for Italian SMEs: Instruments, Results and Current Trends 109 5.1 Introduction: The Assumptions, Aims and Contents of the Study 109 5.2 The Main Provisions on Italian SMEs in the Past Ten Years 110 5.3 The Measures for SMEs Envisaged by "Industria 2015" 115 5.4 A Synopsis by Levels of Government and Objectives 117 5.5 Financial Incentives at National and Regional Level 118 5.5.1 Overall Assessment 118 5.5.2 Measures by Level of Government and Objective 119 5.5.3 The Guarantee Fund for SMEs 120 5.5.4 The Most Recent European Community Provisions 121 5.6 An Evaluation of Interventions for SMEs Through Quantitative Estimation of Incentives 122 5.7 Conclusions 125 References 127 Part II The Financing of Small and Medium Sized Firms 129 6 SME Financing and the Financial Crisis: A Framework and Some Issues 131 6.1 Introduction 131 6.2 Lending Technologies 132 6.3 The Financial Crisis and Foreign Bank Ownership 137 6.4 Bank Guarantee Programs as a Policy Solution 138 6.5 Conclusion 140 References 140 7 Access to Bank Financing and New Investment: Evidence from Europe 143 7.1 Introduction 143 7.2 The Role of Small and Medium Sized Firms in Eastern Europe 144 7.3 Data and Summary Statistics 145 7.4 Financing Patterns 149 7.5 The Determinants of Investment Incidence and Financing Strategies 155 7.6 Conclusions 159 References 159 8 Basel II and Changing Bank-Firm Relationship: A Survey 161 8.1 Introduction 161 8.2 Characteristics of the Surveys 164 8.3 The Knowledge of Basel II and the Initiatives Taken 165 8.3.1 The National Survey 165 8.3.2 The Local Survey 171 8.4 Bank-Business relationship and Growth: The Local Survey 172 8.4.1 Banking Relationship 172 8.4.2 Growth Financing 173 8.5 Conclusions 176 References 177 9 Financial Models of Small Innovative Firms: An Empirical Investigation 179 9.1 Introduction 179 9.2 Theoretical and Empirical Models of Small Firm Financing: A Review 182 9.3 The Empirical Investigation: Sample Selection and Questionnaire 184 9.4 Empirical Findings 186 9.4.1 Firm Characteristics 186 9.4.2 Firm Growth Strategies 189 9.4.3 The Financing of New Growth Strategies 190 9.4.4 Firm Relationships with Their Debt Finance Providers 193 9.4.5 The Relationship of Firms with Their Equity Finance Providers 194 9.5 Conclusion 197 References 198 10 Sources of Financing for New Technology Firms: Evidence from the Kauffman Firm Survey 201 10.1 Introduction 201 10.2 Capital Structure Theory 202 10.3 Prior Research 203 10.4 Data 207 10.5 Descriptive Statistics 208 10.6 Multivariate Analysis 214 10.7 Summary and Conclusions 219 10.8 So What? 221 References 221 11 Do Male and Female Loan Officers Differ in Small Business Lending? A Review of the Literature 223 11.1 Introduction 223 11.2 Why Loan Officers Matter? 225 11.2.1 Theory 225 11.2.1.1 Information and Moral Hazard 225 11.2.1.2 Emotion, Stereotypes and Confidence 226 11.2.2 Evidence 227 11.2.2.1 Information and Moral Hazard 227 11.2.2.2 Behavioral Factors 229 11.3 Why Should the Gender of Loan Officers Matter? 230 11.3.1 Gender in Decision-Making 230 11.3.1.1 Risk Taking and Overconfidence 230 11.3.1.2 Social Preference and Gender Pairing 231 11.3.1.3 Negotiation Skills 232 11.3.1.4 Information Acquisition and Reporting 233 11.3.1.5 Stereotypes and Perceptions 233 11.3.1.6 Competitiveness 234 11.3.1.7 Career Patterns and Discrimination 234 11.3.2 Gender in Lending Decisions 235 11.3.2.1 Risk Taking, Overconfidence and Information Processing 236 11.3.2.2 Stereotypes and Perceptions 239 11.3.2.3 Social Preference and Gender Pairing 241 11.3.2.4 Negotiation Skills 242 11.3.2.5 Career Concerns and Competitiveness 243 11.4 Conclusion 243 References 244 3790826227,9783790826227 Physica-Verlag HD 2011 Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Innovative Entrepreneurship and Policy: Toward Initiation and Preservation of Growth....Pages 3-23 State Programs to Promote the Growth of Innovative Firms in the United States – A Taxonomy....Pages 25-47 OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme: Comparable International Measures of Entrepreneurship and the Factors that Enhance or Impede It....Pages 49-68 The Peculiarities of SMEs in Europe and Italy: Technology Transfer Policies....Pages 69-80 Public Policies for Italian SMEs: Instruments, Results and Current Trends....Pages 81-100 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 SME Financing and the Financial Crisis: A Framework and Some Issues....Pages 103-113 Access to Bank Financing and New Investment: Evidence from Europe....Pages 115-132 Basel II and Changing Bank-Firm Relationship: A Survey....Pages 133-149 Financial Models of Small Innovative Firms: An Empirical Investigation....Pages 151-171 Sources of Financing for New Technology Firms: Evidence from the Kauffman Firm Survey....Pages 173-194 Do Male and Female Loan Officers Differ in Small Business Lending? A Review of the Literature....Pages 195-219