Subsidizing as a tool for government support of small and medium-sized businesses: Evidence from the Republic of Karelia

Subject. State support for small and medium businesses in the context of geoeconomic transformation and import substitution policy. Objectives. Identifying the factors that determine the effectiveness of subsidies as a tool for financially supporting small and medium-sized businesses. Methods. Statistical and comparative analysis, correlation-regression modeling. Results. A strong positive correlation has been found between the amount of subsidies and job retention in the small and medium business sector. Trends show a decrease in subsidy amounts and an increase in the share of liquidated companies that received support. Conclusions. Subsidies are effective as an anti-crisis tool that helps save jobs, but they need to be combined with non-financial support measures for small and medium-sized businesses.