The Missing (Small) Businesses of Southeast Asia
Schaper, Michael T | July 2020
Abstract
In 2019, the ASEAN Federation of Accountants proclaimed that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the “backbone” of the regional economy, accounting for most businesses active in the region (Pratama 2019). Theirs is not an isolated claim: many other policymakers, industry advocates and commentators have made similar statements. ASEAN (2020) itself, for example, has stated that SMEs are “… an increasingly important force in ASEAN economic integration.”
It is an interesting rhetorical flourish, but is it supported by much data on the public record? Is Southeast Asia really full of small businesses, and if so, how many are there today? In this paper, public data on the number of such firms are examined and collated across the ten economies of the region. A number of trends apparent in the figures are also discussed, as are the shortfalls in data collections, and some suggestions are offered about how this can be improved in future.
Citation
Schaper, Michael T. 2020. The Missing (Small) Businesses of Southeast Asia. © ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/12240.ISSN
2335-6677
Keywords
Small Business Finance
Trade Facilitation
Trade
Economic integration
Regional Economic Integration
Intraregional Trade
Governance
Good Governance
Governance Approach
Governance Capacity
Governance Models
Governance Quality
Regional Policy
Regional Perspectives
Regional Government
Regional Development
Regional Cooperation
Interregional Cooperation
Small business
Medium business
Small to medium sized enterprises
SMEs
Economic planning
Economic structure
Growth policy
Trade relations
Trade policy
Trade Regulations
Exchange Rate
Economic zones
Protection
Business Management
Institutional
Framework
Business Ethics
Regional Plans
Project finance
Development Bank
Common Markets
Incentives
Small business
Business
Economics
Communication in economic development
Restraint of trade
International economic integration
Trade blocs
East-West
Exchange rates
Economic Zones
Regional economics
Economic forecasting
Economic development projects
Success in business
Business
Bureaucracy
Cabinet system
Common good
Executive power
Government
Separation of powers
Transparency in government
Regional economics
Community development
Funds
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