How important are small firms as sources of new jobs? Research by Gallagher and Doyle, reported in British Business (1986) suggests that they are disproportionately important: in terms of employment small firms in the UK were found to be growing more quickly than large firms. In this note we examine their evidence. We conclude that their case is not proven, although there are features of recent experience which may point in that direction.
This note is based on a discussion paper by Hart (1987).