Role and impact of small and medium size enterprises on the economics development of Pakistan.

Abstract

In developing countries, the importance of SMEs is emphasized not only for creating jobs, but also for their particular role in industrial development. Today the need for our country is to promote this sector through efficient utilization of resources available to us. The study emphasizes on role played by Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in low-cost employment generation, poverty alleviation, rapid industrialization and economic development. Over the past fifty years, numerous attempts have been made to promote small enterprise development in Pakistan; new governmental institutions have been created but nothing substantial has been done so far. As yet, no standard definition exists for SMEs in Pakistan and there is no overall “SME policy” arrangement for compliance with the regulatory framework. In the policy areas of finance, business operations and taxation, SME specific measures are hard to find. At the aggregate level, procedures for compliance are biased towards large-scale enterprises. This study looks at the present socio-economic situation in Pakistan, reviewing its economic growth over the past 50 years. Various strategies and policy formulation practices are described, to provide a background to the current planning climate and the problems and opportunities that will arise in the formulation of economic policy on SMEs development.