proportion entrepreneurs/employees?

[Christel]

Have economists anything to say of what the proportion of employees to enterprises in a town/area/region would be healthy or ideal?

I'm just sometimes wondering about attempts to make people entrepreneurs, start their own business, etc. We can't all be business people, we need companies that employ people as well, don't we.

Are there any statistics available as to how many enterprises exist in a county for example? I'd be interested in links, if so.

I'm sometimes wondering how in a county of 30000 inhabitants all the existing shops, pubs, and other small enterprises can exist, not just now after the recession has kicked in.

[cactusflower]

I misread your question at first. I thought you were asking what the maximum size of firm should be in any area of a particular size. A problem we've had in Ireland is that the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) promoted dispersed industry in the same way that hospital services are spread out. Something in every constituency. Consequently some quite small population areas have had quite large factories. This is disastrous when they close: 1,000 people redundant and the largest town in the area 5,000 people, perhaps. Even when there was no recession, nearly impossible for most people to get a job.

A lot of small businesses is healthy imo - but there is a need for a range of sizes of production units that relates to the functional needs of production, located in an area in which there is a large enough population to provide a work force, without overdependency.

[Christel]

Yes, we have two such large companies in our county.
I was mainly wonderinmg re: shops of the same kind, pubs, hairdressers, undertakers, auctioneers, all these businesses of which you get many scattered over a county in towns and villages. How can they all make a living; and add to it the recent swamp of supermarkets, large DIY stores and similar?

How many customers/households in the area do you need to make a living?

Other diverse enterprise in between in size is not that common in the more rural areas.

[Mr.De-Regulation]

Ideally, you should have a sh*t job till your 23, get your foot in the door in a real job, get good experience to move somewhere better at 25, start looking into your own business at 28. Fail. Try again. Fail. Then succeed at 35. Live comfortably and retire rich enough at 70. Then your business is replaced by a new one.

That to me seems like a good cycle, as long the birth rate is steady. Everyone should aspire to own their own business. I tried my own business, didnt go as well as planned, not so good at any of the beurocratic crap. I'll try again next year.