
Big Is Beautiful
Debunking the Myth of Small Business
MIT Press
Published on 30. March 2018
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-262-03770-9 (ISBN)
Description
Why small business is not the basis of American prosperity, not the foundation of American democracy, and not the champion of job creation.In this provocative book, Robert Atkinson and Michael Lind argue that small business is not, as is widely claimed, the basis of American prosperity. Small business is not responsible for most of the country's job creation and innovation. American democracy does not depend on the existence of brave bands of self-employed citizens. Small businesses are not systematically discriminated against by government policy makers. Rather, Atkinson and Lind argue, small businesses are not the font of jobs, because most small businesses fail. The only kind of small firm that contributes to technological innovation is the technological start-up, and its success depends on scaling up. The idea that self-employed citizens are the foundation of democracy is a relic of Jeffersonian dreams of an agrarian society. And governments, motivated by a confused mix of populist and free market ideology, in fact go out of their way to promote small business. Every modern president has sung the praises of small business, and every modern president, according to Atkinson and Lind, has been wrong. Pointing to the advantages of scale for job creation, productivity, innovation, and virtually all other economic benefits, Atkinson and Lind argue for a "size neutral" policy approach both in the United States and around the world that would encourage growth rather than enshrine an anachronism. If we overthrow the "small is beautiful" ideology, we will be able to recognize large firms as the engines of progress and prosperity that they are.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass.
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
9 figures
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-262-03770-9 (9780262037709)
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Schweitzer Classification
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Book
02/2019
MIT Press
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E-Book
03/2018
MIT Press
€19.49
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