Small and Medium Enterprises Across the Globe: A New Database

34 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Meghana Ayyagari

Meghana Ayyagari

George Washington University - School of Business

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt

World Bank

Thorsten Beck

City University London - The Business School; Tilburg University - European Banking Center, CentER

Date Written: August 2003

Abstract

This paper describes a new cross-country database on the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This database is unique in that it presents consistent and comparable information on the contribution of the SME sector to total employment and GDP across different countries. The dataset improves on existing publicly available datasets on several grounds. First, it extends coverage to a broader set of developing and industrial economies. Second, it provides information on the contribution of the SME sector using a uniform definition of SMEs across different countries, allowing for consistent cross-country comparisons. Third, while we follow the traditional definition of the SME sector as being part of the formal sector, the new database also includes the size of the SME sector relative to the informal sector. This paper describes the sources and the construction of the different indicators, presents descriptive statistics, and explores correlations with other socioeconomic variables.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study SME-related issues.

Suggested Citation

Ayyagari, Meghana and Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli and Beck, Thorsten, Small and Medium Enterprises Across the Globe: A New Database (August 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=636547

Meghana Ayyagari (Contact Author)

George Washington University - School of Business ( email )

Washington, DC 20052
United States

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Thorsten Beck

City University London - The Business School ( email )

106 Bunhill Row
London, EC1Y 8TZ
United Kingdom

Tilburg University - European Banking Center, CentER ( email )

PO Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

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