ABSTRACT
Analysis has shown significant similarities between Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries with respect to the shares of small- and medium-scale industries (SMI) in manufacturing industries. There are differences between individual countries in the plant size structure and in the change of this structure over time. The displacement of traditional crafts by intermediate and modern technology is a common phenomenon in economic development. With regard to long-term changes in the industrial plant size structure, the prevailing notion is that SMIs will decline relative to rising levels of economic development. Some of the reasons for the coexistence of SMIs and large-scale industries are more significant in some subsectors than in others, but the relative importance of the factors as determinants of the plant size structure is influenced by development policies, and infrastructural conditions. The size structure of manufacturing establishments does not only differ between individual industries, but also in the same industry operating in different countries.
