The role of business in social and economic development cannot be overstated.

Business plays a
vital role in the economic development and wealth of a country. Success in business translates to
the economic well-being of a company and its residents through job creation and offering
improved quality of life for the country’s citizens. Here, we delve into several aspects that relate
to the importance of business in today’s economic environment and society.

Business is extremely important to a country’s economy because businesses provide both goods
and services and jobs. Businesses do these things much more efficiently than individuals could
on their own. Business is directly related to the economic health and well-being of the citizens of
the city, region, state or country in which those businesses are active. Profitable businesses drive
economic health, which translates to a better quality of life for the citizens (Baumol,1968).

Businesses are the means by which we get most of the goods and services that we, as consumers,
want and need. You will presumably be reading this answer on a computer that was produced by
a business. You are buying internet access from a business like MTN, Airtell or Zamtel. Almost
everything that you use in your everyday life was produced by a business and sold by yet another
business. Without these businesses, it would be very hard for us to get the things we need in
Zambia. Imagine, for example, how hard it would be for one person to build and sell their own
computers from scratch. This is a major reason why businesses are important for a country’s
economy (Holtz-Eakin,2003).

Businesses are also the means by which many people get their jobs. Businesses create job
opportunities because they need people to produce and sell their goods and services to
consumers. Without businesses, each individual would have to create his or her own way of
making a living. This would be very difficult. Thus, businesses are important because they
provide goods, services, and jobs. Without these things, nations’ economies would be much
smaller and weaker than they are (Baumol,1968).

Small and large businesses drive economic stability and growth by providing valuable services,
products and tax dollars that directly contribute to the health of the community. They also
provide jobs, strengthening the economic health of each community where a business is based.
Even if a business is headquartered elsewhere, employing people at each local business
contributes to the success of that region, as with the wages they earn, people buy property, work,
shop and otherwise invest in where they live (Keilbach, 2005)

1|Page
Taxes are used, among other things, to maintain the infrastructure of a city, state or country
roads, bridges, tunnels, public transportation, libraries and other public buildings and services,
including police officers and firefighters, all benefit from tax money collected from individuals
and businesses. These services are essential to the good health and positive qualities of local and
national citizens. In a capitalist society like that of the United States, business growth and
increased sales means collecting more taxes, which can directly translate to better maintenance
and offerings of local infrastructure and services that benefit the community (Arent, 2013).

Business is vital to a Zambia’s economy. Success of businesses can drive the success of an entire
country, including through contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP), of a nation, which
affects their world standing. If a country supports businesses with goods and services that are in
demand, everyone in the country benefits. From job creation that results in money being put back
into the community to taxes that help the Zambian government smoothly run and provide
maintenance and improvements to the country’s infrastructure, or in other ways that are helpful
for its citizens, there are dozens of ways business success translates to economic development
(Holtz-Eakin,2003).

But small businesses don’t always stay small. Many nationally known brands today got their
start as very small businesses run out of someone’s home or garage. Startups can become
multinational companies that can have a huge and positive impact on the global economy,
benefiting all of the company’s employees and the communities in which those businesses thrive.
Trade Kings, Flash Buses, Mobile City and Muvi Television were all ideas started on a small
scale that have had incredible, explosive positive impacts on the Zambian economy (Arent,
2013).

In summary, to encourage economic growth, Zambia must try to encourage entrepreneurship the
creation and growth of new businesses. In order to make it easier for individuals to launch and
grow those businesses, governments take various approaches to regulating business as a whole,
as well as specific markets.

2|Page
 References

Arent A., 2013, The role of SMEs in sustainable regional development and local business
integration: The case of Lublin region (Poland).

Keilbach M. 2005, Entrepreneurship Capital and regional Growth, “The Annals of Regional
Science”, vol. 39(3).

Audretsch D., Fritsch M. 2002, Growth Regimes over Time and Space, “Regional Studies”,
vol.36 (2).

Baumol M. 1968, Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, “American Economic Review”,

vol. 58(2).

Holtz-Eakin D., 2003, Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth: The Proof is in

Productivity, Maxwell School Center for Policy Research, Working Paper V. 50.

3|Page