OBSERVATORY ON EUROPEAN RESEARCH FOR CRAFTS AND SMEs

Issued by Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe

The Observatory on the European Research for Crafts and SMEs was set up by the Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe, based in Brussels. Its mission is to monitor the results of research on Craft and SMEs carried out in Europe by several bodies e.g. research centres, universities, the EC agencies. The Observatory diffuses the results to Crafts and SME organizations and the other relevant stakeholders.

NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2011/N.32

MAIN CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

1 A d m i n i s t r a t i v e B a r r i e r s T o D e v e l o p m e n t O f S m a l l A n d M e d i u m

E n t e r p r i s e s I n P o l a n d ; B y Michal Dziadkiewicz and Tomasz Calus.

2- I n t e g r a t i n g S m a l l a n d M e d i u m - s i z e d E n t e r p r i s e s i n t o t h e

R e g i o n a l a n d G l o b a l M a r k e t s ; By United Nations ESCAP

3- Skills and wage inequality in Greece: evidence from matched

e m p l o y e r - e m p l o y e e d a t a ; By Rebekka Christopoulou and Theodora Kosma.

4- Consultation on the future of the Right to Request 'Time to T r a i n ' R e g u l a t i o n s : G o v e r n m e n t r e s p o n s e . B y Department for business Innovation & Skills .

ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN POLAND

Author(s): Michal Dziadkiewicz (Czestochowa University of Technology)and Tomasz Calus

(University of Silesia).
SUMMARY

(EN) Administrative barriers considerably hinder establishment of new and operation of the existing small and medium enterprises. These barriers should be understood as costs incurred by the entrepreneurs due to fulfilment of information obligations which result from legal regulations imposed by the state. The entrepreneurs frequently point to the barriers connected with bureaucracy and excessively developed administrative procedures. This involves in particular improper professional background of the people employed in public administration institutions as well as lack of diligence during dealing with different issues and long time of waiting for administrative decisions. The postulates are proposed that it is necessary to carry out a reform of administrative and economic law. The way of functioning of public administration and economic jurisdiction institutions should also be changed so that their operation stimulates development of entrepreneurship and enterprises in Poland . LINK

INTEGRATING SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES INTO THE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL MARKETS-

In: Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2011: Postcrisis trade and investment opportunities

Author(s): United Nations ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)).
SUMMARY

(EN) In Asia and the Pacific, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain a critical source of employment creation (in many economies of Asia and the Pacific contributing 60% or more of jobs) and income generation. While SMEs enhance dynamism in economies by providing flexibility and fresh ideas, they can also stabilize societies by providing safety nets for disadvantaged workers. In this regard, the SME sector has occupied a prominent position in the development agenda of all developing economies in the region; thus, promotion of SME development has been regarded as an important policy issue in those economies.

LINK

SKILLS AND WAGE INEQUALITY IN GREECE: EVIDENCE FROM MATCHED EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE DATA

Author(s): Rebekka Christopoulou (Cornell University) and Theodora Kosma (Bank of

Greece).

SUMMARY

(EN) This paper examines changes in the Greek wage distribution over 1995-2002 and the role of skills in these changes using a matched employer-employee data set. This data set enables us to account for firm heterogeneity and obtain a more refined picture of the impact of skills. The methodology adopted is the Machado-Mata decomposition technique, which separates the part of wage changes that is due to changes in the job/employer and employee characteristics from the part due to changes in the returns to these characteristics. The results indicate that the role of skills has been decisive. The skill return effects in combination with the composition effects of tenure, which are arguably responsive to economic developments and market conditions, have had an important contribution to the changes in the Greek wage distribution. On the other hand, the impact of predetermined demographic changes, as those captured by the age and education composition effects, has been relatively milder.

LINK
2

CONSULTATION ON THE FUTURE OF THE RIGHT TO REQUEST 'TIME TO TRAIN' REGULATIONS: GOVERNMENT RESPONSE.

Author(s): Department for business

SUMMARY

Innovation & Skills

(EN) Ministers of the new United Kingdom coalition Government wished to look at what more could be done to help the economy and to consider the regulatory burden being placed on business. As a first step, in summer 2010 a review of all pipeline regulations was announced to consider all the regulations planned by the previous Government. As part of this review, on 11 August Skills Minister John Hayes launched a consultation on the future of the right to request time to train which had been introduced across Great Britain in April 2010 for employees in organisations with 250 or more employees. Under plans of the previous Government, it was due to extend to cover employees in all other organisations from April 2011. LINK

Newspapers: Growing social enterprise movement holds opportunities for volunteers

(EN) 4 November 2011, The Guardian

By Richard Williams It is also a confident sector. According to The state of social enterprises survey undertaken in November 2009, 48% of social enterprise companies were confident of future growth compared with just 24% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in spite of the economic downturn. And, social enterprises also outperformed many SME companies during this period. An impressive 56% of social enterprises had increased their turnover from the previous year, compared to 28% of SMEs.

Istruzioni per le Pmi: come utilizzare 250 milioni di risorse (I) 7/11/2011, Il Sole 24Ore
By Francesca Barbieri Two hundred million sold by The Italian investment fund and the European Investment Fund; 50 million coming from SACE and the Italian Stock Exchange in the forefront to spread financial literacy among SMEs.

Events
Webinar: IP Strategies for European SMEs at Trade Fairs in China -Event Details: Date: Time: Location: Admission: Language: Eligibility: Tuesday 15 November 2011 10.30-11.45 am (Brussels, GMT+2) / 9.30-10.45 am (London, GMT+1) / 5.30-6.45 pm (Beijing, GMT+8) Your own computer No charge English Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (less than 250 employees) or SME intermediary association from European Union only

Event Description:

Thousands of European SMEs based in Europe and China participate in trade fairs and exhibitions in China each year. Trade fairs offer the opportunity for European companies to showcase their products and identify new clients. Many companies, however, witness their intellectual property (IP) being infringed at events in China. It can be a challenging issue to resolve but there are processes that can be put in place to minimise the risk of being infringed and to maximise the chance of a successful outcome if you do experience infringement.
This webinar will explain comprehensive measures you can take before, during, and after a trade fair in order to enforce your intellectual property rights should you discover counterfeiting.

Agenda (Brussels time): 10.30 am 10.35 am 10.35 am 11.15 am 11.15 am 11.45 am Welcome and introduction by the IPR SME Helpdesk team Presentation by the IP expert Q&A session

REGISTER here for this event

THE LIST OF SOURCES IN THIS ISSUE.

Bank of Greece: is the national central bank of Greece, located in Athens on Panepistimiou Street, with several branches across the country. Founded in 1927. Its operations started officially in 1928. Il sole 24ore: is an Italian national daily business newspaper owned by Confindustria, the Italian employers' federation. It was founded on 1965-11-09 as a merger between Il Sole, founded in 1865, and 24 Ore, founded in 1946. The headquarters are in Milan. Il Sole 24 Ore reports on business, politics, developments in commercial and labour law, corporate news and features. Czestochowa University of Technology :(CUT) is the largest state university in the region. The University is involved in several research projects within the framework of programmes, research and education initiatives. The University of Silesia :is one of the most prestigious universities in the southern part of the country and one of the biggest public universities in Poland. It collaborates with over 300 higher education institutions from all over the world through student and academic staff exchanges and joint educational and research projects. It is a member of numerous international associations and actively participates in European Commission initiatives. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)):is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. With a membership of 62 Governments, 58 of which are in the region, and a geographical scope that stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south, ESCAP is the most comprehensive of the United Nations five regional commissions. It is also the largest United Nations body serving the Asia-Pacific region with over 600 staff. Cornell University begins when its two founders in January 1864. The university was initially funded by Ezra Cornell's $400,000 endowment and by New York's 989,920-acre (4,006.1 km2) allotment of the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is making a difference by supporting sustained growth and higher skills across the economy. BIS: working together for growth.

The present edition of the Newsletter for the Academy Avignon was edited by Maura Albanesi.

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