EN
One of the characteristic features of market economy is the significant share of small industries, treated as the source of constant renewal of industry, of economic dynamics and enhancement of competitiveness. The share of small industries in total industrial employment in Poland is at 30%, i.e. almost two limes less than in the industry of Western Europe. In conditions of transition to market economy and its integration with Western Europe, small industries, side by side with their economic functions, constitute an important instrument of solving such essential problems as: industrial restructuring, activation of agricultural regions, protection of natural environment and unemployment. Simultaneously, small industries contribute to appearance of the middle class, whose existence is a necessary condition for the stable democracy. An incrcase of the role of small industries in the restructuring of Polish economy requires an active policy of support for the private entrepreneurship, especially at the level of regions.