Policy Briefs
FREE Policy Brief: Supporting Measures for Belarusian SMEs: the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic
In the context of the evolving global economic crisis, governments are “competing” with each other in the complexity and scale of measures to support the economy and, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprise (hereafter SMEs). The main goal of these measures is, on the one hand, to prevent a significant increase in unemployment and a consequent social strain, and, on the other hand, to ensure economic recovery driven by the most efficient enterprises.
Belarusian SMEs, which currently employ more than 1.3 million people, usually respond faster and more extensively than the state companies to the downturn in the economy by laying off employees. At the same time, they are also expected to be more sensitive reacting to governmental support policies. In this regard, the policy brief discusses the role and response of SMEs in the period of crises and delineates short- and medium-term measures.