Too Small to Fail: Why Small Nations Outperform Larger Ones and How They Are Reshaping the World
R. James Breiding
Top 10 Best Quotes
“Lack of entitlement drives small nation’s success: they expect to adapt to outside forces, so they do.”
“A society where everybody is paddling the same boat at a decent pace will move quicker and more effortlessly than one with a few speedsters and many laggards.”
“Widespread distrust imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity It constricts and raises the cost of transactions.”
“To reform the most important aspects of the social contract such as education, health care, environment and pensions, requires boldness and steadfastness. It takes a generation to determine whether reforms have been successful so government policy must hold its course despite changes in prime ministers and control of parliament.”
“The cost of conflict almost always outweigh the benefit of what is being fought over.”
“Success in smaller nations tend to be hidden because they lie off piste from the traditional corridor of information traffic stretching from Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Shanghai and Tokyo.”
“Singapore has found a way to provide cost-effective quality healthcare for its citizens with superior outcomes as 25% the cost of the US and 40% the cost of Europe. Israel has created a start-up ecosystem to rival Silicon Valley. Finland and Singapore consistently rank among the highest in PISA scores although their spending per pupil is among the lowest of OEDC nations. Zwolle, a town in the Netherlands, makes roads out of recycled plastic which are cheaper, last longer and are environmentally friendly. The Dutch pension system is the envy of the world. Swiss citizens passed a law to limit their congress’s ability to impose obligations on future generations, eliminating the moral hazard of elected officials engaging in “buy now, pay later” policy enactments. Ireland, once among the poorest nations in Europe now ranks among its most prosperous. Through its “Citizens Assemblies”, Petri dishes used to form political consensus at the ground level on sensitive matters such as abortion and gay marriage, it has morphed from one of the conservative societies to among the most liberal. New Zealand has just introduced ‘naked vegetables’, requiring produce in supermarkets to be sold without plastic packaging.”
“Since smaller nations are exposed to exogenous forces, they have greater incentive to experiment and innovate. Since they are better able to intermediate a political consensus the pathway from knowing to doing is more expedient.”
“New, experimental forms of multilateral organisations are required to come up with novel solutions. Traditional institutions driven by large nations are hamstrung due to: difficulties at home, heavy emphasis on self interest, unwieldy size and sclerotic bureaucracy.”
“Nations do not spontaneously organize themselves to achieve higher Human Development Index rankings or PISA scores, lower CO2 emissions. Food does not fall on their plates, clothes on their backs or roofs over their heads. Well being and progress towards it, is what begs a better explanation.”
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Book Keywords:
education, success, healthcare, politics, small-countries, gender-equality, sustainability, economic
