Pymes y desarrollo regional: la utilidad de los enfoques europeos y sus limitaciones

Abstract

Over the last two decades the literature on local and regional development has highlighted the real and potential role of small and medium sized businesses (pymes in Spanish) as innovative establishments and creators of employment. The reassessment of pymes and the models used to characterize them has been seen with great interest in Latin America and other regions with the aim of improving competitiveness in certain areas. This article analyzes European models and explains some recent regional experiences in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Thus the limitations intrinsic to these models, and the difficulties involved in adapting them to different realities, are assessed.