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This book seeks to analyze how small and medium businesses react to the economic and financial crisis. Its focus is on the activities and strategies of SMEs in the areas of innovation, R&D investment, labor markets and finance. The book takes an international perspective and includes both comparative and national analyses and policies, with authors representing acdemia and international institutions such as the ECB, OECD, Kauffman Foundation, Federal Reserve, and US Small Business Administration.

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Preface.- 1 SME and Entrepreneurship Policies After the Crisis.- 2 The Italian Small- and Medium-Sized Firms in the Aftermath of the Crisis: Is there a New Model?.- 3 Industrial Policy for SMEs Renewal: The Opportunity of Service Platforms.- 4 Product Inovation and Corporate Governance in Turbulent Times. Evidence from Italian SMEs. 5 Access to Finance in the EURO Area: What are SMEs telling us About the Crisis? 6 Teh Great Recession of 2008-2009.- 7 Examining the Impact of Credit Access on Small Firm Survivability.- 8 Title.- 9 Starting Smaller; Staying Smaller: America´s Slow Leak in Job Creation.- 10 OECD Countries´ Policy Approach to the SME Crisis in the Recent Recession.- 11 The Internationalization of Italian SME After the Crisis: New Opportunities or New Threats?.- 12 Guarantees and Bank-Loan Interest Rates in Italian Small-Sized Firms.

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Giorgio Calcagnini is Professor of Economics at the University of Urbino, Italy, where he teaches courses and conducts applied research on investment, macro- and micro-economic theory, and the financial system. He was a researcher at ISCO and at the Confindustria, both in Rome.

Ilario Favaretto is Professor of Regional Economics at the University of Urbino, Italy. His current research focuses on the role of small businesses adopting an international perspective and expecially focusing on European policies.

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