1. Hal Hill is Professor of Economics in the Division of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies and Asia-Pacific School of Economics and Management, Australian National University, Canberra.
2. Asian Survey, 41:2, pp. 248-270. ISSN: 0004-4687 c 2001 by The Regents of the University of California/Society. All rights reserved. Send Requests for Permission to Reprint to: Rights and Permissions, University of California Press, Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223.
3. 1 Much has been written on SMEs around Asia. Some recent general surveys specifically about SMEs in Indonesia include Henry Sandee, "Innovation Adoption in Rural Industry: Technological Change in Roof Tile Clusters in Central Java, Indonesia" (Ph.D. thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 1995); Mari Pangestu, ed., Small-Scale Business Development and Competition Policy (Jakarta: Centre for Strategic and International Studies, 1996); Peter van Diermen, Small Business in Indonesia (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 1997); and Tulus Tambunan, Development of Small-scale Industries during the New Order Government in Indonesia (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2000).
4. 1 Financial assistance: This is now relatively unimportant, but in the past many programs were introduced to assist SME firms. Some involved subsidized credit (whose importance peaked during the oil boom period 1973-82), others a requirement that banks allocate a certain percentage of their portfolio to these firms. (2) Technical assistance: These typically have involved training schemes, industrial extension services, specialized vocational programs, and domestic and international marketing advisory services. The delivery mechanisms and conditions vary greatly. Some are provided free, although more commonly there is some cost-recovery component. Some are provided as part of an integrated package including financial and technical inputs.