Flexibility and security: an asymmetrical relationship?
spending (2.4% in 2005, 3rd highest in the EU), an attractive business environment, a well established
knowledge society, and innovation performance well above the EU average. Furthermore, in contrast
with the 3 other countries under consideration, Denmark’s non participation in the European Mon-
etary Unions increases the leverage of Danish authorities in domestic policy making.
Among the structural weaknesses facing the Spanish and the Greek economies, perhaps the one
that is more relevant to understand the differences in labour market performance (as compared to
Denmark and the Netherlands) and the fate of the flexicurity agenda in the 2 Southern-European
countries, is the high proportion of SMEs, especially of micro-firms, and their role in fostering or
hampering the conditions for the successful implementation of workplace changes.
Share of micro-firms in the economy
Greece stands out amongst the EU countries in terms of the numerical predominance of SMEs
in general and micro businesses in particular. 34 A notable number of them belong to the group
of family-run enterprises and own-account workers (i.e. self-employed people without employees).
There exist over 800 000 SMEs, which represent 97.5 % of all firms and 56.8 % of total employment
in Greece.35 The overwhelming majority, over 90%, of these SMEs employ less than 10 employees.
With 6 occupied persons per enterprise in 2005, the SMEs in Greece are far smaller on average than
in the EU-15, with 6.9 persons per enterprise, or in Denmark with 7.9 persons.36 Overall, micro-firms
account for 56.5% of non-financial business economy employment in Greece, compared to 29.6% in
the EU-27 (Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 31/2008 —figures refer to 2005).
Spain’s economy also heavily relies on SMEs, particularly on micro-firms, with 40.8% of the
workforce employed in firms with less than 10 employees37. Micro-firms contribute 39% of non-
financial business economy employment38; 87.6% of SMEs employ between 1-9 employees39; almost
34 Greece has one of the highest densities of SMEs per 1000 inhabitants in the EU-27: almost 75 firms, whilst Spain has
less than 60, against less than 40 firms in the EU-27 on average (Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 31/2008 —figures refer to
2005 and the non-financial business economy).
35 The comparable figures for the EU-15 as a whole in 2003 were 92.4 % of all firms and 39.7 % of total employment
(Mouriki & Traxler, 2007).
36 See Observatory of European SMEs Survey, 2007.
37 J.I. Anton’s analysis from the Observatory of European SMEs Survey, 2007.
38 Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 31/2008 —2005 figures.
39 Observatory of European SMEs Survey, 2007
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