CONSTRUCTING CAPITALISM - SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS AND REGIONAL POLICY IN SLOVAKIA

This article examines the process of SME development and regional deve lopment in the context of Slovakia. It argues that SME development is not resulting in capitalist development which mirrors that of the indu strial district model. The argument is developed through considering t he concrete experience of SME development and institutional innovation in two regions in central Slovakia, partly drawing upon the results o f a survey of SMEs in the manufacturing sector. I argue that there has only been a limited development of SMEs and that they retain a margin al role in regional economic restructuring even though significant res ources have been devoted to the construction of local industrial distr icts. I argue that we are witnessing the emergence of localized compet ition (rather than cooperation) between small firms, between small and large locally dominant companies, and between small productive capita l and finance capital. This experience suggests that we need to recons ider the suitability of 'western' development discourses in the contex t of transformation in Central and Eastern Europe.