Growth Determinants of Micro-business
Job creation by small business is an important focal point for public policy and has been the
subject of much empirical research1
. If small businesses have the capacity to create jobs, then
how will public policy help realize this potential for as many businesses as possible?
In order to address this issue it is helpful to better understand the factors involved in the growth
of small businesses. However, the small business sector is hardly homogenous. Very small
businesses include the self-employed, micro-businesses, most start-ups and many more. Not all
of these businesses are equally capable or willing to grow. Blanket approaches to small business
may therefore be less effective in understanding growth, given the different performance
outcomes of different types of small businesses. Research efforts and policy discussion targeted
at specific types of small businesses may be most helpful in fostering such understanding.
This study draws on the rich information obtained from the “Micro-Enterprises, 2000″ survey,
undertaken by Statistics Canada in collaboration with Industry Canada. The survey targeted
owner-founders of micro-businesses in seven industries other than manufacturing that had
between one and four employees in 1995 and were still in operation in 1999.