Regulation and Small Firm Performance and Growth

The issue of regulation and its adverse impacts upon small businesses has been noted by several organisations (Better Regulation Task Force, 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2001; Small Business Council 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004; Small Business Service, 2004a). The recent ICAEW report on the 2004 Enterprise Survey estimates that the cost of implementing new legislation costs the UK economy as a whole £7bn a year (ICAEW, 2004: p77). Arguably, small businesses suffer disproportionately from business regulation. But on what evidence base are these claims made? The purpose of this section is to examine the literature on the impact of regulation on small business performance and growth.