Small Firm Dynamism in East Asia: An Introductory Overview

Abstract

This Special Issue presents a collection of papers which examine the evolution of small and medium enterprises (hereafter SMEs) in East Asia over the past quarter century or so. 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 demographic patterns and in the flow and composition of domestic and international trade. It is of interest to see to what extent these transformations have affected, or have been influenced 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. 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.