The liberalization of economic policies in the last two decades and intensifying market competition tend to be a cause of policy concern for the survival of SMEs in emerging economies like India. These SMEs account for the largest chunk of industrial units and employment in the national economy....

This paper has made an attempt to identify the role of lead firms in mapping the activities related to upgrading. Upgrading refers to the process through which firms may move up the value chain. The literature identifies different types of upgrading such as product, process, functional and...

The process of technology diffusion is complex, and one should bear in mind that multiple elements may be claimed as its essential determinants. Insofar, voluminous theoretical and empirical literature has been issued where attempts of identification of the latter has been made. However, we...

Empirical work on micro and small firms has focused on developed countries. The little work that exists on developing countries is all too often based on small samples taken from ad hoc questionnaires. The census data we analyze are fairly representative of the structure of small business in...

Having access to credit is essential for households to address the volatility of their personal finances over time and for firms to fund their investments. Accessing financial services at affordable cost on the other hand, is crucial to ensure financial security of all economic units. Despite...