This title presents a collection of papers which examines the evolution of small and medium enterprises (hereafter SMEs) in East Asia since the mid-1970s. East Asia is of interest because this region has experienced, on average, the highest economic growth rates in the world during this period. This has been accompanied by dramatic transformations in sectoral output and employment, in patterns of domestic and international trade and in demographic flows within countries. It is of interest to see to what extent these transformations have affected, or have been influenced in turn by, industrial structure as reflected in the evolution of small firms. At the same time, not all countries in East Asia have grown at similar rates nor has there been uniformity in public policies across the region. So there is a background of diversity in both performance and policy. How smaller firms have coped with the different policy environments and patterns of economic transformation that have characterized the region in the recent past could be of potential importance to the formulation of public policy in other developing countries. Small firms are important instruments for economic development.This book examines the factors that influence their evolution and performance.
