Non-farm businesses local economic integration level: the case of six Portuguese small and medium-sized Markettowns• - a sector approach

CONCLUSIONS

Non-farm businesses are small, independent businesses with no other sites, run by the
owner. They usually belong to the service sector and have been located on that
particular place for quite some time.

Table 18 shows how deep these agents, when considered as a whole, are rooted in local
economies. There are four levels of integration for non-farm businesses: sales,
purchases, employment, and paid salaries.

Table 18. Study Area Economic Agents Integration Synthesis

Very Weak: [0-0,25[; Weak: [0,25-0,4[; Moderate: [0,4-0,6[; Strong: [0,6-0,8[; Very Strong: [0,8-1]

Source: From Tables 3 and 4.

The non-farm business sales integration level is weak in the two towns where tourism
is the dominating economic activity and in the periurban town of Lixa. The size of
periurban towns increases the sales integration level because in Esposende its
integration level is moderate. In the two towns where agriculture prevails the non-farm
business sales integration level is strong.

As to non-farm business purchases in a way they are poorly integrated in local
economies. In fact, in Tavira, a small - sized town where tourism is the main economic

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