Small states, smart solutions : improving connectivity and increasing the effectiveness of public services

The case studies focus on specific attempts made by a number of small states to overcome the handicaps of their size and isolation and take advantage of growing opportunities for integration with their neighbors and with the rest of the world. Two policy issues have been of prime importance in that effort: how to reduce the costs and increase the effectiveness of public goods and services, and how to improve, and reduce the costs of, connectivity with the rest of the world. This study takes a different tack. It focuses on two policy areas: (a) the use of outsourcing of government functions as a means of reducing the costs and improving the quality of some public goods and services; and (b) policies, institutions, and regulations designed to harness the power of information and telecommunications technology (ICT) to reduce the costs and improve the quality of connectivity with the rest of the world.