Small business and microenterprise are important because of their role in the economy, their role in the American dream, and their economic development and self-sufficiency objectives. They are attractive because they create more economic development and self-sufficiency than income redistribution or meeting a minimum consumption level do. However, small business and microenterprise subsidies are often criticized because they are directed toward a narrow, entrepreneurial segment of the population that is not necessarily disadvantaged. This brief examines small business and microenterprise programs and subsidies, and offers recommendations to improve the evaluation and administration of these programs.