Skip to main content

Small Firms in the 1990s

  • Chapter
The Economics of Small Firms

Part of the book series: Studies in Industrial Organization ((SIOR,volume 11))

Abstract

In the Fall of 1988 an international conference was held at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fur Sozialforschung (WZB). This was the first conference devoted entirely to the subject of Small Business Economics. The present volume which is an outgrowth of that conference contains revised versions of papers which were presented at that conference. Most of the papers in this book grew out of research projects examining the role of small firms in national economies. We include papers from six countries exploiting twelve rich databases.

We wish to thank Bo Carlsson, David S. Evans, Joachim Schwalbach, and David J. Storey for helpful suggestions. All errors and omissions remain our responsibility.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Acs, Zoltan J., 1984, The Changing Structure of the U.S. Economy: Lessons from the Steel Industry, New York, NY: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1987a, “Innovation in Large and Small Firms”, Economics Letters23, 109–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1987b, “Innovation, Market Structure and Firm Size”, Review of Economics and Statistics69, November, 567–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1988, “Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis”, American Economic Review78 (September), 678–690.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan, J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989a, “Job Creation and Firm Size in the U.S. and West Germany”, International Small Business Journal1 (4), 9–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989b, “Entrepreneurial Strategy and the Presence of Small Firms”, Small Business Economics1 (3), 193–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989c, “Births and Firm Size”, Southern Economic Journal55, October, 467–475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989d, “Small-Firm Entry in U.S. Manufacturing”, Economica56 (May), 255–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989e, “R & D, Firm Size, and Innovative Activity”, Discussion Paper No. (FS IV-89–6) Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989f, “Technological Regimes, Learning, and Industry Turbulence”, Discussion Paper No. (FS IV-89–12) Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, May.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1989g, “Patents as a Measure of Innovative Activity”, Kyklos42 (2), 171–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, 1990, Innovation and Small Firms, Cambridge, Ma. The MIT Press. Acs, Zoltan J. and David B. Audretsch, and Bo Carlsson, 1988, “Flexible Technology and Firm Size”, RPIE Working Paper, 1988: X, Case Western Reserve University, March.

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs, Zoltan J. and Felix R. FitzRoy, 1989, “Inside the Firm and Organizational Capital: A Review Article”, International Journal of Industrial Organization7 (2), 309–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, Walter and James W. Brock, 1988, “The Bigness Mystique and the Merger Policy Debate: An International Perspective,” Northwestern Journal of International Law& Business9 (Spring), 1–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aoki, M., 1988, Information, Incentives and Bargaining in the Japanese Economy( Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Armington, Catherine and Marjorie Odle, 1982, “Small Business–How Many Jobs?”, The Brookings Review1 (Winter), 14–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, David B., 1989, The Market and the State: Government Policy Towards Business in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.A., New York: New York University, Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch, David L., 1981, “Who Creates Jobs?”, The Public Interest65 (Fall), 3–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, O.J. and L H Summers, 1988, “Beyond the Natural Rate Hypothesis”, American Economic Review78 (May), 182–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, David, 1987, “A Time Series Analysis of Self-Employment,” Journal of Political Economy95 (June, 445–467).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, William A. and David S. Evans, 1986, The Economics of Small Business, New York, NY: Holmes & Meier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, William A. and David S. Evans, 1989, “Small Business Economics”, Small Business Economics1 (1), 1989, 7–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, H. Shelton and Bruce D. Phillips, 1989, “Comparisons Between Small Business Data Base (USEEM) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Data: 1978–1986,” Small Business Economics, 1 (4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, Bo, 1984, “The Development and Use of Machine Tools in Historical Perspective”, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization5, 91–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, Bo, 1989, “The Evolution of Manufacturing Technology and its Impact on Industrial Structure: An International Study,” Small Business Economics, 1 (1), 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, Bo, “Industry Dynamics: An Overview”, in Bo Carlsson, ed., Industry Dynamics, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, forthcoming.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, Mark, 1982, The Entrepreneur: An Economic Theory, Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caves, Richard E., and Thomas A. Pugel, 1980, Intraindustry Differences in Conduct and Performance: Viable Strategies in U.S. Manufacturing Industries. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cecchini, Paolo, 1988, The European Challenge: 1992, Alderschot: Wildwood House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunne, T., M. Roberts, and L. Samuelson, 1987, “The Impact of Plant Failure on Employment Growth in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector,” unpublished paper, Pennsylvania State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, David S., 1987a, “The Relationship Between Firm Growth, Size, and Age: Estimates for 100 Manufacturing Industries”, Journal of Industrial Economics35 (June), 567–581.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, David S., 1987b, “Tests of Alternative Theories of Firm Growth”, Journal of Political Economy95, 657–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, David S. and Boyan Jovanovic, 1989, “Estimates of a Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints”, Journal of Political Economy97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, David S. and Linda S. Leighton, 1989, “The Determinants of Changes in U.S. Self-Employment, 1968–1987”, Small Business Economics1 (2), 111–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FitzRoy, Felix, R., 1989a, “Firm Size, Efficiency and Employment: A Review Article”, Small Business Economics1 (1), 75–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FitzRoy, Felix R., 1989b, “Wage Structures, Employment Problems and Economic Policy”, Working Paper prepared for The Commission of the European Communities (March), forthcoming, Small Business Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • FitzRoy, Felix R. and Zoltan J.; Acs, 1989, “The New Institutional Economics of the Firm and Lessons

    Google Scholar 

  • from Japan“, Discussion paper (FS IV 89–16), Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (January).

    Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R.L. and M. Kenney, 1988, “Venture Capital, High Technology and Regional Development”, Regional Studies22 (February), 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith, John K., 1956, American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power, revised edition, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geroski, Paul A. and Alexis Jacquemin, 1985, “Industrial Change, Barriers to Mobility and European Industrial Policy”, Economic Policy1 (November), 172–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, Bronwyn H., 1987, “The Relationship Between Firm Size and Firm Growth in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector”, Journal of Industrial Economics35 (June), 583–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, P.E. and S.J. Prais, 1956, “The Analysis of Business Concentration: A Statistical Approach”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society119 (part 2), 150–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hébert, Robert F. and Albert N. Link, 1989, “In Search of the Meaning of Entrepreneurship”, Small Business Economics1 (1), 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilbronner, Robert L., 1984, “Economics and Political Economy: Marx, Keynes and Schumpeter”, Journal of Economic Issues18 (September), 681–695.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horovitz, Paul M. and Richardson Pettit (eds.), 1984, Small Business Finance, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Hull, Christopher, J., 1986, “Job Generation in the Federal Republic of Germany - A Review, `Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, (II/LMP 86–12).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jovanovic, Boyan, 1982, “Selection and Evolution of Industry”, Econometrica50 (May), 649–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kihlstrom, R. and J. Laffont, 1979, A General Equilibrium Entrepreneurial Theory of Firm Formation Based on Risk Aversion, Journal of Political Economy87, 719–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, Frank, 192, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, Jonathan S., 1986, “On the Size Distribution of Employment and Establishments”, NBER, Working Paper No. 1951.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, Robert E., Jr., 1978, “On the Size Distribution of Business Firms”, Bell Journal of Economics9 (Autumn), 508–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, Edwin, 1962, “Entry, Gibrat’s Law, Innovation, and the Growth of Firms”, American Economic Review52 (December), 1023–1051.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, Alfred, 1920, Principles of Economics, 8th edition, London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, David C., 1969, The Achieving Society, New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mensch, Gerhard, 1979, Stalemate in Technology, Boston, MA: Ballinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, David E., and Laurence Schulmamm, 1985, “Industry Structure with Fluctuating Demand, ” American Economic Review, 75 (September 758–767).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, Richard R. and Sidney G. Winter, 1982, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD, 1985, “Employment in Small and Large Firms: Where have the Jobs Come From?”, in OECD Employment Outlook 1985, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pakes, Ariel and Richard Ericson, 1989, “Empirical Implications of Alternative Models of Firm Dynamics”, Working Paper No. 2893, National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore, Michael, J. and Charles F. Sabel, 1983, “Italian Small Business Development: Lessons for U.S. Industrial Policy”,in John Zysman and Laura Tyson (eds.), American Industry in International Competition, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore, Michael, J. and Charles F. Sabel, 1984, The Second Industrial Divide: Possibilities for Prosperity, NewYork, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, Bruce D., 1985, “The Effects of Industry Deregulation on the Small Business Sector”, Business Economics20, 28–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, Bruce D. and Bruce A. Kirchhoff, 1989, “Formation, Growth and Survival: Small Firm Dynamics in the U.S. Economy”, Small Business Economics1 (1), 65–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prais, S., 1981, Productivity and Industrial Structure, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Revelli, R. and T. Battagliotti, 1988, “Modelli di Crescita Delle Imprese: il Caso Italiano”, mimeo, R & P, Torino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, F.M., 1980, Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance, 2nd edition, Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, F.M., 1988, “Corporate Takeovers: The Efficiency Arguments”, Economic Perspectives2 (Winter), 69–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, Theodore W., 1975, “The Value of the Ability to Deal with Disequilibria”, Journal of Economic Literature13, 827–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1934, The Theory of Economic Development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1950, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 3rd edition, New York, NY: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sengenberger, Werner, Gary Loveman, and Michael Piore, eds. 1989, The Reemergence of Smaller Units of Employment — Developments of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector in Industrialized Countries, mimeograph, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Servan-Schreiber, J.-J., 1968, The American Challenge, London: Hamisch Hamilton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, Herbert A. and Charles P. Bonini, 1958, “The Size Distribution of Business Firms”, American Economic Review48 (September), 607–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S.C., 1988, “On the Incidence of Profit and Equity Sharing”, Journal of Behavior and Economic Organization9, 45–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soete, Luc L.G., 1979, “Firm Size and Inventive Activity: The Evidence Reconsidered”, European Economic Review12, 319–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storey, David J., Kevin Keasey, Robert Watson an Pooran Wynarczyk, 1987, The Performance of Small Firms, Croom Helm: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storey, David J. and A.M. Jones, 1987, “New Firm Formation — A Labour Market Approach to Industrial Entry,” Scottish Journal of Political Economy34 (February), 37–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storey, David J. and Steven Johnson, 1987, Job Generation and Labour Market Changes, London: Macmillan. Toffler, Arvin, 1985, The Adaptive Corporation, New York, NY: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, lawrence J., 1982, “The Determinants of the Relative Importance of Small Business”, Review of Economics and Statistics64 (February), 42–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, Oliver E., 1975, Markets and Hierarchies, New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Co. Yokokara, Takashi, 1988, “Small and Medium Enterprise”, in Ryutaro Komiya, M. Oluno, and K. Sazumura, eds., Industrial Policy of Japan, New York: Academic Press, 513–539.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Acs, Z.J., Audretsch, D.B. (1990). Small Firms in the 1990s. In: Acs, Z.J., Audretsch, D.B. (eds) The Economics of Small Firms. Studies in Industrial Organization, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7854-7_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7854-7_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4057-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7854-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics