Авторы книги:

      – Леонид Наумович Тепман, доктор экономических наук, профессор, член-корреспондент Российской академии наук (РАН), автор многочисленных экономических трудов, в том числе в области бизнеса малых и средних предприятий, живущий сейчас в г. Хайфа,

      – Анатолий Антонович Анимица, магистр, инженер-кибернетик, участник разработки множества типов миниЭВМ, операционных систем, АСУ и АСУ ТП, в том числе практических систем автоматизированного учета, бюджетирования и управления, в том числе для малых предприятий, сейчас живущий в Мариуполе.

      FOREWORD

      «Micro-enterprise», «small business», «small and medium business» are stable economic terms that reflect the developing phenomenon of small capital and private savings involvement in active economic turnover in the world.

      The present book is devoted to the study of the issues and the search for new ways of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by states and various public, private and social institutions.

      In different countries, the criteria for classifying enterprises as small and medium-sized businesses are formed independently, but in general – in a similar way:

      – juridical criteria,

      – size criteria,

      – criteria of income, annual revenues from sales of products, works and services.

      Information about these criteria for different countries is constantly updated on the Internet, so in the book it becomes outdated after a short time, therefore digital materials with the criteria of small and medium enterprises of different countries and periods are rational to get from Internet sources. As examples, the book will provide direct links to such materials, available directly from the pages of the book in electronic form.

      This is convenient in case of using the electronic version of the book, but in case of reading a paper copy it is easier to find the desired article with the help of search engines by entering the exact title of the article on the Internet. For example, the criteria for classifying enterprises as small and medium-sized businesses in Russia in 2021 are described in the publication «Medium and Small Enterprises: Criteria 2021».

      Fundamental works and key articles on small and medium-sized businesses and their support will be summarized in the list of references at the end of the book.

      According to the popular definition, the small business sector includes businesses with up to one hundred employees. The medium-sized business sector includes businesses with up to 250 employees. The boundary numbers may differ in the laws of different countries, but the principle of classification remains the same – first, the number of employees.

      The second classification indicator is traditionally revenue from sales of products, works and services.

      Today small business enterprises form a factual basis of sustainable existence and development of economies of many European and other advanced countries of the world – China, Singapore, South Korea, Israel, the list goes on.

      Unlike large businesses and especially international megacorporations, small businesses have much less potential for continued existence under crisis conditions. They cannot long withstand an unfavorable economic situation, work in the «minus» mode, reduction of markets and sales of their products. Therefore they need some support from the state and other institutions, mainly – in the form of measures reducing the risks of complete cessation of activity of small and medium-sized businesses.

      Today (2020—2021) the world is undergoing a painful restructuring of the economy during the ongoing pandemic of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The pandemic necessitates the maximum mutual isolation of people, limiting the mobility of people, and this leads to a reduction of markets with the erection of trade barriers between regions and countries.

      As a result, medium and especially small businesses lose their ability to retain jobs earlier than others. The reduction of jobs and the mass cessation of small businesses create an additional burden on the state budget, as expenditures on social protection of the population increase. People who used to support themselves and give income to the state budget in the form of taxes become dependents of the state, consumers of unemployment benefits and other forms of social protection of the population. As a result of the unfavorable general economic situation, state revenues are decreasing and there is a problem of sources to cover the rising costs of supporting employees of small businesses and small entrepreneurs.

      It follows that the state, by seeking and applying its measures to support small and medium-sized businesses, reduces the costs of social protection of the population, supporting its economic

      The present book is devoted to finding economic measures, which would allow the state to ensure the functioning of small and medium-sized businesses in the difficult economic situation and support the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to keep their jobs and the economic independence of their employees.

      The material in the book is presented with the possibility of constructing on its basis a semester course «State and institutional support of small and medium business» with 48 hours of lectures and practical classes, including coursework and differential examination, united with the defense of the work. A sample course syllabus is provided for this purpose.