small business

Building on information gathered from the Small Business Economic Indicators report, these profiles provided an overview of the important role small businesses play in each state. They include baseline statistics on each states small business economy-number of firms, small business income, industrial composition, job growth and data on minority- and women-owned businesses.

The Swedish SMEs are very important for the future development of the Baltic Region, according to the author. The paper looks at established financing methods for Swedish SMEs and analyzes the impact of these methods on firm survivability using the Survival Index Value model.

In the first half of the paper, the author analyzes the Initiative of SMEs Guarantee Facility of the European Investment Fund. The second part refers to the Greek experience related to the above EIF Initiatives focusing on the new Institution of SMEs Credit Guarantee Fund.

According to the report, during fiscal year 2003, nearly $59 million in financing was enabled for the direct benefit of 168 Virginia businesses through the programs of the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority. The report also reviews workforce services, existing business services, the small business incubator program, and other agency activities.

The authors review the policy arguments in favour of assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in various areas of their operations. The review suggests that many of the arguments put forward for subsidising SME activities are not economically justified. The authors then study the possibilities offered by networks in helping SMEs deal with the
disadvantages they experience.

The report by the U.S. General Accounting Office recommends that small businesses consider a wide and complex range of factors before investing in foreign patents. The report identifies factors small businesses should consider when deciding whether to obtain patent protection abroad and the steps they should take to improve their patent efforts.

The study released by the Arizona Department of Commerce and the Arizona State Universitys Center for the Advancement of Small Business indicates that 98 percent of Arizonas businesses qualify as small businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

This study estimates the small business shares of industries using the new North American Industrial Classification System. Changes from the Standard Industrial Classification system to the new system affected the overall shares from sector to sector, according to the report.

The study found that the smallest firms benefited the most from being online: 35 percent gained 10 to 99 percent of their current sales directly or indirectly from their websites.

The Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York report indicates small businesses bearing a critical role to the regional economies of upstate New York must overcome several barriers to growth if they are to enjoy future success. The report identifies the chief barriers to growth of more than 4,000 small businesses in western and central New York State.