Purpose

This article analyses the structural change in microenterprises located at India's unorganised manufacturing sector in terms of output mix, choice of technique and productivity during the last few decades.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data collected from a quinquennial survey of unorganised firms, this study attempts productivity analysis by using the growth accounting technique.

Findings

The paper finds that there is a significant structural change which has occurred in the small firm sector in Indian manufacturing. The share of capital-intensive industries has increased substantially in recent years. Further, though small firms are more labour intensive, the labour productivity and total productivity of these firms are very low. The falling labour productivity and rising capital intensity indicates replacement of labour with capital in Indian small firm sector.

Practical implications

Low productivity of the sector is a cause for concern and this needs to be addressed by making the sector more competitive in the world market. To achieve this, policies should be designed so that small firms reach the efficient scale of production.

Originality/value

This is the first paper which examines structural changes in the Indian MSME sector. The findings have strong implications for creation of a viable ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the country.

中文翻译：

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非正式性与结构变化：来自印度无组织制造业中的微型企业的证据

目的

本文从过去几十年的产出结构，技术选择和生产率的角度分析了印度无组织制造业中的微型企业的结构变化。

设计/方法/方法

基于从对无组织公司的五年一次调查中收集的数据，本研究尝试使用增长核算技术进行生产率分析。

发现

该论文发现，印度制造业中的小企业部门发生了重大的结构变化。近年来，资本密集型产业的份额已大大增加。此外，尽管小公司劳动强度更高，但这些公司的劳动生产率和总生产率却很低。劳动生产率下降和资本强度上升表明印度小企业部门用资本替代了劳动力。

实际影响

该行业的低生产率令人担忧，需要通过提高该行业在世界市场上的竞争力来解决。为此，应设计政策，使小企业达到有效的生产规模。

创意/价值

这是研究印度MSME部门结构变化的第一篇论文。这些发现对在该国建立可行的企业家精神生态系统具有重要意义。