State Support Measures for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises as a Form of Ensuring Economic Security in a Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: Russian and Foreign Practices

Abstract

Purpose: In the context of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus infection, national governments are directing significant efforts to develop measures to support small- and medium-sized enterprises. The purpose of this research is to systematize and summarize business support measures during the pandemic by key support entities in Russia and abroad, to analyze the general and different approaches of Russian and foreign practices. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodological basis of the research was made up of formal logical methods, a method for analyzing documents of regulatory legal acts of the federal and regional levels, state programs and projects regulating the implementation of measures to support entrepreneurship, as well as screening websites of SME support entities, which acted as an information source on measures to support entrepreneurship during the pandemic in Russian and foreign practices. Conclusions: The research revealed that the directions of business support measures during the pandemic by key support entities in Russia and abroad are similar: preferential financing in the form of loans and credit lines, grants and targeted subsidies, measures to preserve employment, support for participating companies in public procurement and others. However, the amount of funds allocated by national Governments to support business in the context of the pandemic, the share of allocated budgets in the gross domestic product of the country and the mechanisms for obtaining such support differ significantly and they are crucial parameters in the effectiveness of the proposed programs. Originality/novelty: A promising method of solving the problem of effective support for small- and medium-sized enterprises in Russia, as a form of ensuring economic security in a pandemic, is the use of the presented results of analysis of multi-directional practices of the response of the international community and flexible public administration in the field of developing measures to protect Russian business.