Thesis Determining whether a country is small is not easy. First you need to decide how it will be determined. The “definition of a small open economy is one that takes its price in world markets” (Wynne), but how this definition should be applied is a more difficult thing to do than it seems at first glance. Should we focus on imports or exports? In terms of imports, theoretically, all countries are price takers because a country does not specialize in the things it buys, so it has no pricing power. Looking at exports is problematic as a country can have significant influence over a product, but even a nation that has a huge share and influence in a market like Brazil with coffee, the nation still won't have monopoly power on a global scale. Other most popular measures use population size and GDP per capita. Even once a measure has been adopted, the question remains of what the decision point will be and how it will be decided. In one study the decision point was a population of one million or less, this led to the exclusion of Singapore, as well as several other important small countries, including a couple that this article will look at in more detail. This same study analyzed the progress made by countries, and many of the countries included in the first round were no longer considered small according to the criteria. Some studies have used GDP per capita as a decision criterion, but the problem is that if a country has been successful, its GDP per capita will naturally be higher and will likely exclude itself from consideration. The problem is that these countries are of particular interest because those nations have been able to work within their limitations to succeed. Looking at those s... middle of paper... Innovation and Technology Research Institute. Jaakko Kiander, 2004. “The Evolution of the Finnish Model in the 1990s: From Depression to High-Tech Boom,” Discussion Papers 344, Government Institute for Finnish Economic Research (VATT). Kirby, Peadar. "Globalisation, the Celtic Tiger and social outcomes: is Ireland a model or a mirage?". Globalizations 1.2 (2004): 205-222. Academic research completed. Network. December 5, 2013.Ocampo, Jose Antonio. "Small economies facing globalization". Third William G. Demas Memorial Lecture. Caribbean Development Bank, Cayman Islands. May 14, 2002. Print. Lesson transcript.World Bank. GDP per capita (current US$). March 22, 2012. Web. December 4, 2013. Wynne, Mark A. “How Have Small Open Economies Responded to the Challenge of Globalization?” Bank of Iceland Conference. Reykjavik, Iceland. May 31, 2007. Print. Transcription of the lesson.