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In this paper, the author focuses on the work of two more recent thinkers, the eighteenth-century Scottish economist and philosopher, Adam Smith, and the later nineteenth-century English thinker, Herbert Spencer. The thinking of these two has influenced much of what today we take to be the relationship between economics and ethics. The author propounds that rereading Smith and Spencer forces us to question some traditional assumptions about democratic free enterprise. Such analyses help us to envision democratic capitalism not as a static well-defined system but rather has an evolving set of political economies where a particular prevailing view is not, and should not be, the sole model. Smith and Spencer suggest how free enterprise can work to create viable, fair, or democratic economic institutions that protect and even enhance human liberty.

This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the impact of public policies to assist the small business sector. The author reviews the various methodological approaches to evaluating small business support policies in developed economies. An analytical framework with six approaches is provided, beginning with the most simple and ending with the most sophisticated. These six steps include (1) take-up of schemes, (2) recipients' opinions, (3) recipients' views of the difference made by the assistance, (4) comparison of the performance of "assisted" with "typical" firms, (5) comparison with match firms, and (6) taking account of selection bias. Steps 1 to 3 are considered monitoring, with Steps 4 to 6 being evaluation. The difference between the two is that evaluations are attempts, demonstrating analytical rigor, to determine the impact of the policy initiatives. Monitoring either documents activity under the program or reports participants' perception of the value of the scheme.

This paper explores the impact that regulatory policies have on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Europe. The authors' intent is to provide insight about the costs and burdens imposed by regulatory policies on the functioning and operations of businesses, particularly in the European market. The authors attempt to show the administrative burdens that have mainly indirect financial effects or compliance costs. Based on rough calculations and limited research findings, the authors found that the administrative costs for European SMEs were estimated to be between 180 and 230 billion ECU in 1995, or between 3 and 4 percent of Europe's GDP. The authors explore the issue of administrative burdens on SMEs operating in the European market as a result of both European Union (EU) and national legislation. They feel the most suitable way to perform regulatory policies is through EU institutions.

This paper explores what small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy is about, how it is pursued in Europe, and the differences between the European countries. According to the author, the overall objectives of SME policy are to create employment, foster economic growth, improve competitiveness, and regional/structural development. The SME-related policy pursued in most European countries involves a collection of various objectives and fields of economic policy rather than a conceptual framework. The author discusses the various approaches of SME policy that take place in the following European countries: Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and Belgium. The author also discusses the variation of instruments used in the following fields of SME policy: start-ups, finance, exports and internationalization, information, research and development, labor, and red tape.

Chapter 2 covers experience from various countries on power utility restructuring and deregulation. Analytical tools for the modelling and analysis of competitive power markets are presented. The success of competition is partially determined by the auction mechanism employed in the energy market. The chapter describes different potential auctions for the market. Worked examples are included to illustrate market models applied in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]