SECOND OECD CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATIVE SMEs IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY TOWARDS A MORE RESPONSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE GLOBALISATION

Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre français d'exploitation du droit de copie 5 Preface At the first OECD Conference for Ministers Responsible for SMEs, hosted by the Italian government in Bologna, Italy, in June 2000, Ministers from nearly 50 member and non-member economies adopted the " Bologna Charter for SME Policies ". They envisaged the Bologna Conference as the start of a policy dialogue among OECD member countries and non-member economies and that it would be followed up by a continuous monitoring of progress with the implementation of the Bologna Charter. This dialogue and monitoring have become known as the " OECD Bologna Process ". The second OECD Conference for Ministers Responsible for SMEs, hosted by the Turkish Ministry for Industry and Trade, envisaged by Ministers at Bologna, provides an occasion to assess the impact on SMEs of new developments relating to globalisation. This report is an executive summary of background reports for the Istanbul Conference and sets out some policy messages and recommendations that have emerged from preparatory work in the OECD Working Party for SMEs and Entrepreneurship. The wide variation in stages of economic development, institutional arrangements and political context across the economies participating in the Bologna Process, now more than 80, means that not all parts of specific policies and programmes are appropriate for all participants. The messages and recommendations outlined below provide material from which governments may choose to draw in promoting innovative SMEs in the global economy. In broad terms, these policy messages and recommendations elaborate on the themes developed in the Bologna Charter. Ministers will consider these and other recommendations in their deliberations at the Istanbul conference. This report is published …