Policies for Small Enterprises: Creating the Right Environment for Good Jobs.

Around the world, governments are coming to realize the important roles micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) can play in social and economic development. Not only do MSEs create employment for a vas majority of women and men, they also undertake productive activities that contribute to the national accounts and reduce poverty. Small in size at the firm level, the broader MSE sector can be a major engine for national development. Although most governments have recognized the potential of MSEs to create employment and contribute to poverty eradication, in many cases this potential is not being fulfilled. Many workers in MSEs face poor working conditions and incomes that are too low to leave poverty behind. The policy and regulatory environment in which these MSEs work is determined by government, yet this environment is often part of the problem taher than part of the solution. Reforms are badly needed to provide a level playing field. This book shows how policies and laws established by the State can contribute to the creation of more and better jobs for women and men in MSEs. It can help policy-makers, development practitioners and researchers to reform the policy and legal environment so that it becomes more conducive to the growth of MSEs and the quality and number of jobs they create.