Regionų ekonominė plėtra : vietinio verslo skatinimas

LTStraipsnio tikslas - aptarti bendruosius vietos bendruomenės ir savivaldybės būdus bei metodus, palaikant ir skatinant verslą; smulkaus ir vidutinio verslo vaidmenį šalies ekonomikoje; pagal atliktus tyrimus Anykščių ir Prienų rajonuose, įvertinti kliūtis ir galimybes, remiant vietos verslą šalies kaimiškuose rajonuose. Siūloma skatinti vietinę verslininkystę, tobulinant verslo aplinką, plėtojant gyventojų lankstesnį prisitaikymą prie kintančių rinkos sąlygų, didinant darbo jėgos ir darbo rinkos galimybes, pertvarkant savivaldybių struktūrą ir darbo efektyvumą bei teikiant pasiūlymus pertvarkyti mokesčių sistemą. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Regionų plėtra; Anykščiai; Prienai; Region development; Anykščiai; Prienai.

ENThe basic factor of regional socio-economic development was analysed in the paper. This is the promotion of local business activities in the small rural communities of Lithuania. The increased interest in and acceptance of locally based economic development is due to the perceived failure of attempts to deal with disparities in income and job opportunities in different regions of country. The premise of any economic development strategy is that there are more business opportunities available than have been realized. Lack of information is one of the constraints faced by firms in any location. Information on market conditions and technologies are likely to be in short supply in smaller more isolated communities such as Anykščiai district. In larger urban centers, financial and consulting institutions carries out part of the task of collecting and assessing market information. There are informal networks among business in which relevant information is disseminated. The local business support centers could serve as a partial substitute in smaller communities for the formal and informal structures found in larger centers. They can utilize knowledge of local natural resources, capital stock, technology, human skills and capabilities, and infrastructure to determine what market opportunity and technology information is most relevant to local enterprises and to the development prospects of the community. The present researches show also that the deficiency for business in smaller rural communities is inadequate access to capital - both debt and equity financing. Local business in many communities with stagnant or declining economics find it difficult to borrow on terms comparable to those offered to firms in larger centers or in rapidly growing communities. Furthermore, the supply of equity capital is small or non - existent in the more remote communities.Local community initiatives actually undertaken in Lithuania fall into two main groupings. The first group is those designed to enhance the use or quality of local resources, especially human's resources. This constitutes a supply side approach to development. The second set of activities involves a response to market forces or market opportunities - a demand side orientation. Enhancing local resources - the supply side approach - can involve one or more of three types of activities: employing idle human and physical resources, expanding the community resource base, and increasing the productivity of local resources. Most efforts in economic development are directed at increasing employment of local labor force. But they can also be directed at the use of idle physical capital. A focus in local economic development initiatives on demand side activities - responding to market forces ~ can involve making increased information on new opportunities (especially in external markets) available to existing business or potential investors, promol ' ng the community in external export markets and to indigenous and outside investors, inducing investment by private business, fostering cntrcprcneurship in the community, and directly investing in business ventures for local and external markets. Community directed initiatives should be directed to collecting and evaluating information on market opportunities. The knowledge about new or expanded markets that can be exploited by local firms is fundamental and will be the critical factor dictating the pace of economic development.Efforts of community should also be directed at expanding external markets for locally produced goods and services and at encouraging non - local investors to consider the business opportunities in the community. These first two types of initiatives can, by themselves, influence the investment and operating decisions of local firms and potential entrepreneurs. Successful community based ventures can similarly serve as a spur for local business activity. Although local competition for jobs should be beneficial, it can be inefficient, and business may receive excessive subsidies. There are at least five important reasons why the market for jobs tends to be inefficient: problems of collective action, information asymmetry, poorly defined property rights or outcomes, operations of State programmes and cost/value differences. Well-designed economic development programmes can minimize these problems. There is disagreement regarding whether economic development strategies should emphasize discretionary or entitlement subsidies. Discretionary programmes rely on skills of local economic development officials to avoid over subsidization. There is also disagreement regarding whether development strategics should focus predominantly on cutting business costs through subsidies and tax cuts or should emphasize investment in human capital through education and training. [From the publication]