force. Using a sample of 76 countries, they find a strong association between the importance of SMEs and GDP per capita … characteristic of successful economies, the data fail to support the hypothesis that SMEs exert a causal impact on growth …. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that SMEs reduce poverty. Finally, they find qualified evidence that the overall …

. 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 …