Abstract:

The share of small and medium-sized enterprises in total number of active enterprises in 2013 represents 99.83 % and 60 % of all employed in the business sector work there. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic have become a significant factor of the Czech economy, which has been making its performance and export abilities more dynamic for the last twenty years. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises on the national economy. The main point is to formulate the selected benefits and the costs of small and medium-sized enterprises in the last decade and subsequently on this basis to give a recommendation for the economic policy in this area. Macroeconomic connections make an equally important constituent of this paper – relation of small and medium-sized enterprises to the labour market, to the balance of trade and the branches where small and medium-sized enterprises have been established. The proven trend of the continuous absolute increase in the number of businesses – small and medium-sized enterprises in recent years is accompanied by a significant number of businesses whose business activities have been completed. There was a stable increase in the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises, their share in the total business sector investment was rising, employment was increasing, wages were growing and foreign trade was also developing in a favourable rate. One third of GDP is realized thanks to small and medium-sized enterprises. Their positive influence in the national economy was proved and other measures to promote the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises, their long-term functioning and strengthening their position in the economy are an essential part of economic policy, not only on the level of the Czech Republic but also in the European Union.