The constraint on informal finance is commonly taken to be high costs and limited supply. But the majority of informal investors - family and friends - is often willing to supply funds at negative returns, and yet many borrowers tap family and friends only as a last resort. We explain this...

This report is a synthesis of the previous literature analyzing the role of different types of companies on economic growth and employment, and an overlook on the impacts of different policy measures on companies. The role of large companies in the economy is still significant, although...

Not unlike elsewhere, the government in Finland has been keen to provide funding to Finnish firms, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this paper we review, in the light of the economic rationales for public efforts to finance SMEs, all of the government institutions...

Die Bedeutung von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen für eine Marktwirtschaft steht außer Zweifel. Neben wettbewerbs- und angebotspolitischen Funktionen ist der arbeitsmarktpolitische Stellenwert vor allem junger innovativer Unternehmen hervorzuheben. Während Großunternehmen in den letzten...