EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS ON SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES SECTOR IN SOME EU MEMBER COUNTRIES - A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Year 2011, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 333 - 342, 01.06.2011

Roman Angela Rusu Valentina Diana

Abstract

Small and medium enterprise sector is considered the engine of economic and
social development of a country, appreciation resulting from the fact that,
according to statistical data, it generates much of a country's gross domestic
product and provides jobs for most employment population. Such an assessment
justifies our concern for the research in this field.
One of the fundamental problems of any company and, in particular of the small
and medium enterprises (SME) is the access to finance, as a condition for their
creation, survival and development. Starting from this assessment, our study aims
to highlight the possibilities of financing the SME sector in some EU countries
and especially the differences that arise between them, and the obstacles that
SMEs face in the way of the access to finance, based on studies initiated by the
European Commission, the European Central Bank and the World Bank. Also, the
study aim to highlight the impact of the current crisis over the access to financing
for SMEs in the countries examined and measures taken by the national
government to support access to finance, particularly bank financing of this
sector.

Keywords

Economic crisis, SME sector, external financing, bank loans

References

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