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This paper describes the main theoretical concepts of the competition, which is thought to be the fundamental social process in the economy. The protection of competition (or the competition policy) is the one of the most important parts of economic policy, because the competition ensures the freedom of choice. The theory of competition provides large number of assumptions, which were developed within the frame of various economic schools & approaches. This paper starts with the description of the history of competition policy before the coming of Adam Smith. In the middle part of the work there have been formulated basic ideological theses about economic policy. Represented are, for example, the Classics, Ordo-liberalism or Neo-austrian School. Paper is finalized by the major theses of the Harvard & Chicago school. References. Adapted from the source document.

Corporate competitiveness has been an attention-attracting phenomenon for decades. Nonetheless, this publication aims to deepen its understanding. First and foremost, and as a major contribution, it brings the operationalization of the concept of competitiveness. However, its principal contribution is an application of the sequential forward flow search algorithm together with the nearest neighbors' classifier, the joint usage of which has managed to reduce potential competitiveness factors to the most informative ones, i.e. those that can in their combinations best discriminate between the less competitive and more competitive companies. Furthermore, the publication contains preliminary results of the research which means that it identifies possible competitiveness factors in Czech companies

The European Union and the NATO have 21 of their 27 and 26, respectively, member states in common. The friction between the two institutions is based on the fact that the EU has matured into a well established strategic actor, with its own policies and priorities, and growing ambitions and capacities. The present article discusses a stable and flexible two-pillar model to end the EU-NATO competition. The two-pillar construction that is proposed here implicates a pragmatic attitude, in which each separate case will be looked into separately, to then appoint the organization that will be the best suited for the job. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the article is to describe theoretical concepts related to the effects of state subsidies on enterprises & to discuss the magnitude & effect of state aid on enterprises during the transformation of the Czech economy. Subsidies to enterprises during transformation were high, often transparent, & above the European Union average. During 1997-2003 registered state aid reached 362 bn. CZK. More than 90 percent of the total registered state aid went to awards the rescue & restructuring of enterprises. It can be roughly estimated that during 1997-2000 state aid was twice as high as officially registered. Share of state aid to enterprises in public debt increased & reached 70 percent by 2003. Non-transparent channels of state aid distribution decrease the efficiency of state aid, as they distort market signals & decrease motivation for fair competition. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with district level electoral competition in Canada & Great Britain. Analyzing fragmentation, degree of competition & district heterogeneity of party support, using a calibrated set of research tools (Laakso-Taagepera's N, graphical methods, second-first loser ratio (SFLR) & Gini index as measure of heterogeneity), we argue that in respect to the Duvergerian agenda, Great Britain & Canada now represent proximate (and not -- as before -- distal) cases. This convergence has been accompanied by the departure of both electoral arenas from the former status quo in at least one of the dimensions under observation. We briefly discuss possible reasons for that departure, mostly exogenous of electoral rules, stressing their increasing importance for the Duvergerian agenda in general. Adapted from the source document.

In this short paper there will be introduced the stream of economic theory labeled as the New Economic Geography (NEG) & derived the core-periphery model, a flagship of the NEG. It is a model of two regions with imperfect competition & increasing returns to scale, where some properties of the model contrast certain features of basic neoclassic models of regional economics & international trade. The role of monopolistic competition & increasing returns to scale opens the possibility of highly nonlinear effects of production location with respect to barriers of trade. I analyze main mechanisms of the model & discuss the relevance of the NEG for economic policy in the context of European economic integration. Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.