When originally published in 1986, this book was one of the first to deal solely with the urban and regional incidence and development implications of new firm formation in particular EU countries. It reviews the extent of and reasons for geographical variation in numbers of new firms, examines the nature of such firms and assesses the regional impact and policy implications in various EC countries.

1. Introduction David Keeble and Egbert Wever 2. Small and Medium-sized Establishments in Western Europe Werner Korte 3. New Firm Formation in the Netherlands Egbert Wever 4. New Firms and High-Technology Industry in the UK: The Case of Computer Electronics David Keeble and Timothy Kelly 5. The Location of New firm Creation: The French Case Philippe Aydalot 6. New Firms in the Local Economy: The Case of Belgium Rik Donckels and Christiane Bert 7. New Firm Creation in Denmark: The Importance of the Cultural Background Sven Illeris 8. The Nature of New Firms in Ireland: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implication Patrick O'Farrell 9. Small Firms and Industrial Districts: The Experience of Italy Sebastiano Brusco 10. Urban Dynamics and the New Firm: The Position of Amsterdam in the Northern Rimcity Mark de Jong and Jan Lambooy 11. The Regional Impact of Public Policy Towards Small Firms in the UK Colin Mason and Richard Harrison 12. The Economic Importance of Small and Medium Sized Firm in the Federal Republic of Germany Franz-Josef Bade 13. Relevance and Nature of Small and Medium-Sized Firms in Southern Italy Alfredo Del Monte and Adriano Giannola 14. Small Manufacturing Firms and Regional Development in Greece: Patterns and Changes Evangelia Dokopoulou