@techreport{NBERw11224,
 title = "SMEs, Growth, and Poverty",
 author = "Thorsten Beck and Asli Demirguc-Kunt and Ross Levine",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "11224",
 year = "2005",
 month = "March",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w11224",
 abstract = {This paper explores the relationship between the relative size of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector, economic growth, and poverty alleviation using a new database on the share of SME labor in the total manufacturing labor force. Using a sample of 45 countries, we find a strong, positive association between the importance of SMEs and GDP per capita growth. The data do not, however, confidently support the conclusions that SMEs exert a causal impact on growth. Furthermore, we find no evidence that SMEs alleviate poverty or decrease income inequality.},
}