Editorial

摘要

It has become customary to incorporate in JSBED editorials a brief analysis of the latest economic developments to affect industrially developed and developing nations, as well as countries in transition. Early in my research on small businesses, I became aware of the intricate relationship that exists between local and global economic conditions. In this context, I noticed that cause and effect links become somewhat blurred and tend to lose their spatial associative relevance in favour of local, near and distant challenges and related solutions. For instance, much could be learnt from recurring economic downturns, such as cyclical "recessions" or "depressions", during which governments are forced to consider a range of options and to implement best possible rescue measures. In practice, recovery policies can vary considerable, both at national and international level. While there is no certainty that these lessons would help governments to totally avoid economic turbulence, it is likely that the systemic knowledge and experience gained from dealing with past recessions could mitigate the intensity and magnitude of financial and social costs attributable to cyclical economic decline, stagnation and recovery.