Publisher's Synopsis
Contrary to expectations, small and medium-scale manufacturing enterprises in Colombia grew very fast during the 1970s - considerably faster than large industry. This book provides the most detailed study available to date of this growth, which created many jobs and contributed to the economic health of the country. From the Colombian experience it draws lessons of relevance for other developing countries in which such enterprises could be encouraged as a stimulus to economic growth. The authors have based their study on detailed surveys of metalworking and food processing industries and on aggregate data from national sources. They analyse the determinants of economic efficency in small and medium-scale firms, the extensive technological change that took place in them and the characterisitics of the entrepreneurs who directed them.
