Cravo, Tulio A.Piza, Caio2016-06-132016-06-132016-05https://hdl.handle.net/10986/24501Interventions designed to support small and medium enterprises are popular among policy makers, given the role small and medium enterprises play in job creation around the world. Business support interventions in low- and middle-income countries are often based on the assumption that market failures and institutional constraints impede the growth of small and medium enterprises. Significant resources from governments and international organizations are directed to small and medium enterprises to maximize their socioeconomic impact. Business-support interventions for small and medium enterprises in low- and middle-income countries most often relate to formalization and business environments, exports, value chains and clusters, training and technical assistance, and access to credit and innovation. Very little is known about the impact of such interventions despite the abundance of resources directed to small and medium enterprise business-support services. This paper systematically reviews and summarizes 40 rigorous evaluations of small and medium enterprise support services in low- and middle-income countries, and presents evidence to help inform policy debates. The study found indicative evidence that overall business-support interventions help improve firm performance and create jobs. However, little is still known about which interventions work best for small and medium enterprises and why. More rigorous impact evaluations are needed to fill the large knowledge gap in the field.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOEMPLOYMENTEQUIPMENTCORPORATIONSEARCHSME POLICIESGUARANTEESENTERPRISE SURVEYCAPABILITYMEDIUM ENTERPRISESVIDEOVALUE CHAINSUPPLIERFINANCIAL RESOURCESINFORMATIONENTREPRENEURSMEDIUM ENTERPRISESME DEVELOPMENTCOMPANIESTRANSMISSIONLOANFIRM SIZECASH FLOWSOPEN ACCESSSCALE ENTERPRISESECONOMIC ACTIVITYSMALL BUSINESSCOMMUNICATIONSSME PROJECTSINSTITUTIONSTIME PERIODSHUMAN RESOURCEDATATECHNICAL ASSISTANCECOMMERCEMANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTSFIRM SIZESPERFORMANCE INDICATORSLICENSEVALUE CHAINSPRODUCTIVITYMARKETINGMARKETSFIRMEXPORT SUPPORTPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTLOANSENTERPRISESINNOVATION PROGRAMEMPLOYMENT CREATIONCAPITAL INVESTMENTSBUSINESS REGISTRATIONDATABASESBUSINESS PURPOSESSIZE OF FIRMSGRANTSINNOVATION PROGRAMSSTORESTRANSACTIONSMANUFACTURINGUSERSTECHNOLOGYENTERPRISE SUPPORTSEARCH RESULTSCLIENTGRANTR&DREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSSMALL FIRMFIRMSBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTSINTERNATIONAL TRADEPRODUCT INNOVATIONSSMALL ENTERPRISESINNOVATION POLICIESTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTRESULTSCOMPETITIVENESSNETWORKSSME SECTORSENTERPRISEMICROFINANCE PROGRAMSEXPORT PROMOTIONJOB CREATIONPRIVATE SECTORSME SUPPORT PROGRAMSMARKETCOMPANYDIVERSIFICATIONBUSINESS ENTERPRISESADMINISTRATIONEXTERNAL MARKETTECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTSEARCH TERMSRESULTINNOVATION POLICYMICROFINANCEEXPANSIONMANUFACTURING INDUSTRIESICTSME ACTIVITIESSECURITYTECHNOLOGY TRANSFERBUSINESSESBUSINESSNETWORKSUPERMARKETSBANDWIDTHPERFORMANCEBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTPRODUCT INNOVATIONINNOVATIONPRIVATE INVESTMENTSPROFITSMALL FIRMSSPONSORCUSTOMERSSUPPLIERSSEARCHESENTREPRENEURSHIPDATABASEPROFITSEXTERNAL MARKETSTECHNOLOGIESFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSLARGE ENTERPRISESTARGETCREDIT LINESGUARANTEEPRICESCASH FLOWINNOVATIONSMISSING DATASME FINANCINGSMECLIENTSWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7664