Rating and Bankruptcy Prediction

Abstract

The European industrial framework is characterized by the prevalence of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As described by Modina and Pietrovito (2014), SMEs account for over 95 percent and up to 99 percent of the business populations whose contribution changes depending on the nation to which it belongs. Considering the European economy they account for 99.8 percent of non-financial firms (91.2 percent are micro-enterprises with fewer than ten employees), corresponding to 20.7 million businesses. As for statistics regarding employees, SMEs provide 67.4 percent of jobs in the non-financial business economy. Italy and other EU members demonstrate the relevance of SMEs, in that in Italy small firms (less than 50 employees) make up 99 percent of manufacturing enterprises (OECD, 2005).