Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2009
This paper examines the quantitative aspects of the small business investment company program. The total amount of investments made by SBICs is compared with the amounts of capital and loan funds which have been put into the SBIC program. Next, an attempt is made to determine the total direct dollar costs of administrating the program and the indirect costs associated with making SBIC investments. While the paper does not examine in detail all the qualitative aspects of SBIC investments, it does examine those qualitative features which affect the quantity of “legitimate” SBIC investments.