ABSTRACT
Small-scale manufacturing continues to provide a large part of the consumer goods in Third World countries. Economic and political conditions in Bolivia may be particularly well suited for such enterprises. High transportation costs make imports expensive, while large industries have difficulties surviving because of the small internal markets and difficult access to external ones. The relationships between employers and employees in terms of recruitment and treatment are familistic but may become less so if the union movement expands again as it seems to be doing. Each firm attempts to meet downturns in demand by curtailing the work force, either by putting out work to fewer persons or, in the case of the pasta company, by adding machinery. The interest in small-scale enterprises has risen exponentially all over the world. Concomitant with the decline of larger enterprises has been a rapid rise in the number of smaller ones.
