By the early 1980s the average American had a lower standard of living than the average Norwegian or Dane. Standards of living in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, and Austria also rivaled those in the United States. How have seven small democracies achieved economic success and what can they teach America? In Small States in World Markets, Peter Katzenstein examines the successes of these economically vulnerable nations of Western Europe, showing that they have managed to stay economically competitive while at the same time preserving their political institutions. Too dependent on world trade to impose protection, and lacking the resources to transform their domestic industries, they have found a third solution. Their rapid and flexible response to market opportunity stems from what Katzenstein calls "democratic corporatism," a mixture of ideological consensus, centralized politics, and complex bargains among politicians, merest groups, and bureaucrats. Democratic corporatism is the solution these nations have developed in response to the economic crises of the 1930s and 1940s, the liberal international economy established after World War II, and the volatile markets of more recent years. Katzenstein maintains that democratic corporatism is an effective way of coping with a rapidly changing world, a more effective way than the United States and several other large industrial countries have yet managed to discover.

This publication provides an outline of the similarities and differences between Sweden and Canada. It also reviews Sweden's economy and industry from an historical perspective, covering the hundred or so years since the country's industrialization in the early 1870s. In addition, it describes the main factors in the crisis of the late 1970s, analyzes events in the Swedish economy up to 1982, and presents alternative interpretations of whether Sweden's crisis reflected disturbances in the world economy or was intensified by policies and developments within Sweden itself. It also looks at industrial policies, and developments in Sweden since 1982.

This book shows how small countries use "big" diplomacy to advance national interests and global agendas – from issues of peace and security (the South China Sea and nuclearization in Korea) and human rights (decolonization) to development (landlocked and least developed countries) and environment (hydropower development). Using the case of Laos, it explores how a small landlocked developing state maneuvered among the big players and championed causes of international concern at three of the world’s important global institutions – the United Nations (UN), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Recounting the geographical and historical origins behind Laos’ diplomacy, this book traces the journey of the country, surrounded by its five larger neighbors China, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia, and influenced by superpower rivalries, from the Cold War to the post-Cold War eras. The book is written from an integrated perspective of a French-educated Lao diplomat with over 40 years of experience in various senior roles in the Lao government, leading major groups and committees at the UN and ASEAN; and the theoretical knowledge and experience of an American-trained Lao political scientist and international civil servant who has worked for the Lao government and the international secretariats of the UN and MRC. These different perspectives bridge not only the theory-practice divide but also the government insider-outsider schism. The book concludes with "seven rules for small state diplomacy" that should prove useful for diplomats, statespersons, policymakers and international civil servants alike. It will also be of interest to scholars and experts in the fields of international relations and foreign policies of Laos, the Mekong and Asia in general.

The authors of this timely and provocative book use the tools of economic analysis to examine the formation and change of political borders. They argue that while these issues have always been at the core of historical analysis, international economists have tended to regard the size of a country as "exogenous," or no more subject to explanation than the location of a mountain range or the course of a river. Alesina and Spolaore consider a country's borders to be subject to the same analysis as any other man-made institution. In The Size of Nations, they argue that the optimal size of a country is determined by a cost-benefit trade-off between the benefits of size and the costs of heterogeneity. In a large country, per capita costs may be low, but the heterogeneous preferences of a large population make it hard to deliver services and formulate policy. Smaller countries may find it easier to respond to citizen preferences in a democratic way. Alesina and Spolaore substantiate their analysis with simple analytical models that show how the patterns of globalization, international conflict, and democratization of the last two hundred years can explain patterns of state formation. Their aim is not only "normative" but also "positive"—that is, not only to compute the optimal size of a state in theory but also to explain the phenomenon of country size in reality. They argue that the complexity of real world conditions does not preclude a systematic analysis, and that such an analysis, synthesizing economics, political science, and history, can help us understand real world events.

This book addresses the issues surrounding the prospects of small countries in an integrated, globalized world. The contributors support the thesis that the new global environment does not represent a twilight for small countries, but recognise that the honeymoon has not been as comfortable as others had expected. They demonstrate that by entering the global arena or by consolidating into regional alliances small countries do not 'lose', and may even gain sovereignty in areas previously closed to them.

These studies of the international competitiveness of small open economies demonstrate the critical importance of foreign direct investment as an engine of economic development: multinational enterprises are the key drivers of international competitiveness. Alan M. Rugman, University of Reading, UK Globalization has made every country small . The global economic crisis has made sure that every country has increasingly realised that it is open and vulnerable as well. This volume is both timely and relevant. Small country studies should become mainstream for scholars in business, economics and politics! Rob van Tulder, RSM Erasmus University, the Netherlands This book provides a fresh and clear-eyed view of the relationship between multinationals and location advantages of countries. It is one of the first attempts to build a constructive bridge between the theory of international business and the outstanding contribution of Michael Porter about the drivers of competitiveness. The authors address crucial issues demanding the attention of teachers, researchers, practitioners and political leaders. Philippe Gugler, University of Fribourg, Switzerland This unique, extensive Handbook illustrates that multinational enterprises can contribute substantially to the competitive advantage of small countries. It advances the notion that small nations increasingly need to rely on both home-grown and foreign multinational enterprises to achieve domestic economic success in industries characterized by international competition. The expert contributors explore the roles of firms in a range of small, successful open economies driven by such multinational enterprises across the globe. They juxtapose country data sets against Professor Michael Porter s paradigm of single diamond components and show that these single diamond components reflect merely a set of initial conditions, which can be improved upon through both inward and outward direct investment. Concluding that multinational enterprises create resource linkages between the home and host environments in which they operate, this Handbook proves to be a fascinating read for academics, students and researchers with an interest in business and management, economics and international economics.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 and 2003 challenged the global public health community to confront a novel epidemic that spread rapidly from its origins in southern China until it had reached more than 25 other countries within a matter of months. In addition to the number of patients infected with the SARS virus, the disease had profound economic and political repercussions in many of the affected regions. Recent reports of isolated new SARS cases and a fear that the disease could reemerge and spread have put public health officials on high alert for any indications of possible new outbreaks. This report examines the response to SARS by public health systems in individual countries, the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals, the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic, quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases, and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS. The report provides an illuminating survey of findings from the epidemic, along with an assessment of what might be needed in order to contain any future outbreaks of SARS or other emerging infections.