ეკონომიკური პროფილი (Jun 2024)
ANALYSIS OF THE REGIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR OF GEORGIA
Abstract
After gaining independence, deepening and promoting business relations based on private property became the main priority of the country. In this regard, for a country of the size and economic potential of Georgia, one of the main vectors is aimed at the development of small enterprises. Over the past three decades, the development of this business sector has not been uniform and has been full of contradictions. The problem is real, therefore the presented article is devoted to the analysis of the regional structure of the small business sector in Georgia. In particular, along with the main indicators of the small business sector, the article discusses the related regional specificities, such as data analysis of the turnover of production in small enterprises, output of products, added value, fixed capital, distributed profit and employment, which are also considered in terms of types of economic activity. All of the above above-mentioned factors lend relevance to the presented paper. Economic reforms since gaining independence have always implied the promotion of small business development. Accordingly, the scale of small business development was changing, and at one or another stage of economic development, the specificities of the regional development of this sector were identified. Small enterprises play an important role in employment and, therefore, in solving socio-economic problems. Almost 40% of those engaged in business are employed in this sector. The research revealed that: The average monthly wage of employees in small business is still low, and is 74% of the national average. Asymmetry in the average monthly wage of employees is observed between the capital and regions. The indicator of the regions is only 46-60% of the data of Tbilisi; We believe that the asymmetric development of the regions and the inequality are due to the asymmetry of the development of small businesses in the regions, which is manifested in specific indicators; According to the types of economic activity, enterprises of the small business sector in different regions are characterized by different workloads. Small enterprises in the capital have a relatively low specific share of the turnover of production in the business sector, while in small regions this indicator is 4-5 times higher; It is noteworthy that small businesses are an important segment of employment (310.4 thousand people), which employs as many people as large businesses in the country. The fixed capital of small enterprises is only one fifth of the total capital involved in the business, which causes a low rate of added value produced in this sector. In this regard, more support from the state is needed in the direction of fostering innovation.
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