Abstract
Home-based businesses comprise a significant proportion of the small business sector. But because they are invisible, their economic significance is assumed to be minor. This paper challenges this view. The majority are full-time businesses. One in ten has achieved significant scale. They create jobs for more than just the owner(s). They are concentrated in computer-related, business, and professional service sectors. They also have a distinctive geography. Rural areas and non-metropolitan parts of Southern England have the highest proportion of home-based businesses. Urban-industrial regions have the lowest proportion. This suggests a need to reconsider the role of home-based businesses in local economic development.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 625-639 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Regional Studies |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 1 Jun 2010 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2011 |
Keywords
- home working
- home-based business
- small business
- rural economy
- urban economy
- local economic development
- development
- invisible businesses
