Exploring the relationship between micro-enterprises and regional development: Evidence from Tunisia

Jean Bonnet, Sana Harbi and Faten Gazzah
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Faten Gazzah: Normandie University, UNICAEN, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France and University of Sousse (Tunisia)

Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) from Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS

Abstract: We investigate the relationship between the presence of micro-enterprises and regional development, as measured by a validated index of regional development, at the level of Tunisian delegations (small-scaled regions). Applying spatial measures and spatial econometric techniques on a data set of 262 delegations, our results show that in disadvantaged areas, a higher micro-enterprise presence is positively related to regional development. However, in relatively higher developed areas of Tunisia, micro-enterprises appear to play only a marginal role in regional development. Our results emphasise the importance of attracting large, capital-intensive firms in efficiency-driven economies like Tunisia. Nevertheless, although not quite a replacement for large firms, our results also show the important and positive role that micro-enterprises can play in regions where large, capital-intensive firms are absent.

Keywords: Micro-enterprises; Tunisia; regional development; spatial autocorrelation; spatial heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 L26 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-sbm and nep-ure
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Working Paper: Exploring the Relationship between Micro-Enterprises and Regional Development: Evidence from Tunisia (2017)
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