Provides financial statistics on women-owned businesses in 1997. Also known as: Women-Owned Business Enterprises, 1997.

Provides financial statistics on women-owned businesses in 1997. Also known as: Women-Owned Business Enterprises, 1997.

Are Small Firms Important? Their Role and Impact proposes and supports the claim that small firms make two indispensable contributions to the economy. First, they are an integral part of the renewal process that pervades market economies. New and small firms play a crucial role in experimentation and innovation that leads to technological change, productivity and economic growth. Second, small firms are the essential mechanism by which millions enter the economic and social mainstream of American society. The public policy implications for sustained economic growth and social well-being is the continued high-level creation of new and small firms by all segments of society. It should be the role of government policy to facilitate that process by eliminating entry barriers, lowering transaction costs, and minimizing regulation.

Documents the changes in WOB over time, explores disparities in the characteristics of bus. owned by women as compared to those owned by men, and discusses potential reasons for these disparities and the different outcomes that are associated with them. The focus is on proprietorships, partnerships, or any type of privately-held corp. with one or more owners. Publicly-owned co. are not included. The growth of WOB, and their performance as job creators at a time when other privately-held bus. were losing jobs, testifies to the importance of WOB to the economy. These bus. represent a potential source of future economic growth, yet they have a long way to go to achieve parity with men-owned bus. Illus. This is a print on demand report.