낙후지역 중소기업 육성을 위한 정책수요 우선순위에 관한 연구 (A Study of Priorities in Policy Requirements for Developing SMEs in Lagging Regions)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국중소기업학회
· 수록지 정보 : 중소기업연구 / 31권 / 4호 / 207 ~ 225페이지
· 저자명 : 김종국, 박승규

초록

재정자립도를 기준으로 상대적으로 낮은 지역을 낙후지역으로 정의하여, 우리나라 기초 자치단체 중 하위 20%에 해당하는 77곳을 낙후지역으로 볼 수 있다. 본 연구는 낙후지역에 소재하는 중소기업의 경제활동과 경영실태를 분석하여 문제점을 파악하고, 이러한 지역에 위치하는 중소기업의 육성을 위하여 특별히 필요한 정책수요의 우선순위를 찾아 바람직한 정책방향을 제시하고자 하는 것이다. 1993년부터 2007년까지 낙후지역 소재 중소기업의 활동을 비교해 보면, 중소기업체수 비중은 19.9%에서 5.6%로, 종사자수는 23.4%에서 4.6%로, 생산액은 26.7%에서 3.5%로 크게 낮아 졌으며, 경영상태는 일반지역에 비해 더 나쁘고, 근로자는 저학력 고령자가 많은 반면 짧은 근속 연수를 갖고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 현장 단순근로자가 부족하고 종업원 복지시설은 매우 취약한 것으로 나타났다. 전문가 및 공무원 집단을 대상으로 분석적위계절차기법(AHP)으로 정책수요 우선순위를 조사한 결과, 낙후지역 중소기업을 위한 전용자금 설치, 기술개발자금 확대, 기업 특성에 적합한 규제 등을 선호하였다. 바람직한 정책방향으로는 지역자원을 활용하여 1차․2차․3차 산업을 연계하는 네트워크형 비즈니스 구축, 경영역량이 부족한 분야에 대한 우대조치, 이러한 조치들을 제도적으로 보장하기 위한 특별법의 제정이 필요하다.

영어초록

Concerning the lagging regions of a country, a term which refers to regions in which economic activities remain at a poor level and whose degree of financial self-reliance is low, they constitute a policy issue that should be settled regardless of the state of a country’s development. The development of a lagging region requires an abundance of financial resources and involves composite factors. Thus, it is important how efficiently the issue is settled. In Korea, many efforts have been made to settle the issue since the 1970s, with considerable results. However, many regions still remain as lagging regions. This study intends to present a desirable policy direction concerning the aim of having SMEs and plays a crucial role in the recovery of the economic vitality of such regions by examining their economic level and the characteristics of the management activities of SMEs in such regions.
In this study, lagging regions are defined as bottom 20 percent of the country’s cities and Guns based on the arithmetic mean of financial self-reliance rank from 1997 to 2008 by comparing level of financial self-reliance rank. Thus, 77 cities and Guns are found to fall into this category. Their average level of financial self-reliance stands at 14.5%, compared to 40.6% for non-lagging regions. An analysis was conducted based on a 24-item (including the management status and the composition of employees) questionnaire survey of 200 SMEs selected from those located in seven lagging regions by means of sampling. In consultation with 30 researchers specializing in SMEs and 30 public officials working in lagging regions, policy priorities were checked, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)technique, concerning 29 programs designed to provide support to SMEs.
According to a trend analysis using a time series concerning the number of mining and manufacturing SMEs with five or more employees in the period ranging from 1993 to 2007, their number decreased from 14,759 (or 20.0%) in 1993 to 6,642 (or 5.6%) by 2007 in lagging regions. In non-lagging regions, their number increased from 59,197 (80.0%) to 111,176 (94.4%), recording an increase of 187.8%. As for the number of employees working for mining and manufacturing SMEs in lagging regions, it decreased from 23.4% in 1993 to 4.6% in 2007, recording an 80.3% decrease over 14 years. As of 2007, the number of employees working for mining and manufacturing SMEs in lagging regions, stood at 127,000, compared to 2,657,000 in non-lagging regions. In the 2000s, the percentage of employees working for SMEs in lagging regions14 s14overed at about 4.7%, without dropping notice iny. Looking at the produing anvalue of mining and manufacturing SMEs in lagging regions, it dropped from 52.6 trillion won or 26.7% in 1993 to 3.5% by 2007. The production value of mining and manufacturing SMEs in non-lagging regions jumped from 73.3% to 96.5% in the same period. The ratio of the total amount of added value in lagging regions dropped from 26.8% in 1993 to 3.4% by 2007.
A 16-item questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 200 SMEs in seven lagging regions concerning their management status, difficulties and composition of employees. Their opinion on the current status of the economy was gloomier (61.0%) than that of average SMEs (42.1%). Nonetheless, 78.0% of SMEs in lagging regions said that they would continue to stay in the business, while only 7.5% of them appeared to consider moving to another region of business or closing the business. Concerning the location of business, 93.5% of them said that they would continue to stay in their present location, while 6.5% of them appeared to consider moving to another region. As for employees’ age, those in 20s and 30s amounted for 46.7% of the total number of employees, while those in 40s and 50s amounted for 48.7% and those aged 60 or over 4.6%. Compared to the average age for employees at all the SMEs, the percentage of those aged in 40s and 50s in lagging regions was 2.7%p lower and the percentage of those aged 60 or over was 3.3%p higher. Concerning employees’ academic background, those in lagging regions showed 5% lower percentage than the average employees working for SMEs in terms of the number of holders of high school or college diplomas. As for employees who worked at the same workplace for more than ten consecutive years, those in lagging regions showed only half the figure of those in non-lagging regions. According to the survey, the sectors suffering the greatest shortage of workers were simple manual work (38.0%) and skilled work (29.5%). When it came to employee welfare facilities, 71.9% and 72.6% of those in lagging regions had no in-house cafeteria and dormitory, respectively.
Looking at the major systems adopted for SMEs in lagging regions in Japan, a major series of measures taken in that country include the Law on Emergency Measures for Depopulated Regions (1970); the Law on Special Measures for Promoting the Development of Depopulated Regions (1980); the Law on Special Measures for Revitalizing Depopulated Regions (1990); the Law on Special Measures for Vitalizing Depopulated Regions (2000); the Law on the Promotion of SME’s Utilization of Local Resources (2007) and the Law on the Promotion of Business Activities through Collaboration between SMEs and Those Engaged in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (2008). Such laws guarantee preferential measures for lagging regions, including administrative, financial and fiscal support as well as tax reduction or exemption.
As for the U.S., starting in 1977, the U.S. Small Business Administration designated lagging regions as “Historically Under-utilized Business Zones,” and obliged government ministries and public institutions to purchase products made by SMEs in such regions on a preferential treatment basis. Starting in 2008, it adopted the “Emerging 200 Initiative program,” which was designed to help SMEs in economically disadvantaged regions to enhance their management abilities.
We asked 30 relevant experts and 30 public officials to present their opinions on the priority of necessary measures concerning SMEs in lagging regions, based on 3 categories (namely, administrative and financial support, management control, and technological development), 8 divisions, and 29 sections, using the AHP technique. The experts pointed to the following as their priority items: the lowering of interest rates and the provision of policy funds on a preferential basis (0.159) the establishment of an exclusive fund for SMEs in lagging regions (0.138) the mitigation of regulation, with corporate characteristics taken into account (0.055); the supply of a technological development fund (0.054) and the simplification of finance-related investment procedures (0.051). The following items are found to be placed low on the priority list: support for design development (0.005), support for marketing (0.007), and support for participation in overseas expos (0.008). As for the priorities set by public officials in lagging regions, they include the establishment of an exclusive fund for SMEs in lagging regions (0.135); the lowering of interest rates and the provision of policy funds on a preferential basis (0.102) the mitigation of regulation, with corporate characteristics taken into account (0.069); the mitigation of regulations on the expansion of existing facilities, including factories (0.069) and the simplification of the administrative procedure at local administrative units (0.056). The following items are found to be placed low on the priority list: employee education/training (0.002) consulting support (0.003) and support for design development (0.005). Results of AHP show highly significant value of CI(Consistency Index) and CR(Inconsistency Ratio) of survey which is below 0.1. This means that the rank of priority shown by experts and public officials based on reliable pairwise comparison.
Concerning a desirable policy direction for the development of SMEs in lagging regions, it is necessary to establish an efficient support network that will prevent dual investment through a proper division of roles between the central and local governments and key economic actors, and to put necessary measures into action in the relevant regions accurately by fixing SME priorities of policy requirements to minimize inefficient use of resources.
Also, priority should be placed on the establishment of a business network in which primary, secondary, and tertiary industries are organically linked so that SMEs can play the role of stable users of local resources. A strategy should be implemented to develop and sell products with high added value in regions whergy shre is cooperation between the producers of local resources, the SMEs that use them, and the relevant research and support institutions. Speche Ssupport,Ssuch as assistance with technological development,n between the producers of loc, and the supply rodworkers, should be peen ded to businesses participating in the relevant peejects using such local resources. It is also necessary to peen de management resources to products with high addedand help them build their management capabloc, ans. It central and local governments need to work toge shr to thsp and s to lend to them, operate speche Speegrasarfor the supply rodand s through betweecess rodcghdit guarantees, and g in thiority to peeducts made by products with high addedin their purchr p rodnecessary supplies. AedJapan and the U.S. hrve done, it is necessary to enact a pertinent wwnee.g. “Speche SLwwnon the Development of SMEs in lagging regions”) with t parim of hrving such measures executed stably and efficiently. The central government should provide support to local administrative units that carry out the relevant plans on their own.

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