Small and medium-sized enterprises in Algeria. Are they fulfilling their assigned role? An Empirical Study for the Period 2001-2022

This study aims to highlight the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in local economic development in Algeria by examining their participation in the economic process. The study addresses a range of indicators, starting with their number, then the number of jobs they provide, their exports, and specifically their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). The study analyzed data from 2001 to 2022, employing a cointegration methodology using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Period (ARDL) model.The key findings of the study are as follows: The Bounds Test robustly confirms the existence of a strong long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables, which is further validated by the significant error correction term, indicating that approximately 22% of short-run disequilibrium is corrected annually. In the short run, exports emerge as the most powerful and statistically significant driver of growth, whereas variables related to small and medium-sized enterprises exhibit no substantial impact in either the short or long term. These results suggest that the stimulative effect of exports is confined to the short run, underscoring the need to reassess policies aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance their effectiveness.