The impact of SMEs in job creation in western Balkans

• Authors: Avni Arifi

Title variants

PL

Wpływ MŚP na tworzenie miejsc pracy w Bałkanach Zachodnich

Abstracts

EN

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of SMEs on job creation in the WB6 countries (North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia). During the last two decades, the countries in the Western Balkans region have faced different economic challenges, including employment-related issues and the question of who is in fact the creator of new jobs in this region. The paper employs explanatory methodology, through analysis of the statistical data collected in the Enterprise Survey conducted by the World Bank Group. The data analyzed covers three periods, i.e., year 1 (2009), year 2 (2013), year 3 (2019). The surveys were administered to a representative sample of 5358 firms in the non-agricultural, formal, private sectors, including small, medium and large enterprises. The paper concludes that the most widespread type of business activity in the Wester Balkan countries are SMEs, which tend to employ more than large enterprises, with an average share of 45%-77%, by which they contribute more to new job creation, compared to large enterprises, and are indeed the ones reducing job scarcity and exhibiting a smaller share in job shrinkage. The implications arising from the paper are twofold, i.e., they can inspire both the academic and researcher circles to analyze even further the impact of SMEs, by including additional measuring indicators as well the policy makers to revise the policy of assisting SMEs in any means possible. The paper fills the gap in the existing literature dealing with the impact of SMEs on job creation in the WB region. The relevance of this research stands in fact that the study addresses the impact and relevance of SMEs’ job creation in countries known for their long transition period.

Keywords

EN

job creation; small and medium enterprises; employment.

• Publisher: Sopocka Akademia Nauk Stosowanych
• Journal: Przestrzeń, Ekonomia, Społeczeństwo
• Year: 2022
• Issue: 21/I
• Pages: 11-26

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Avni Arifi

• South-East European University,Tetovo, North Macedonia

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.23830/21/I/2022/1126

Biblioteka Nauki

2232271