How Small Countries Out-Perform (Spoiler: It?s A Lot Like Startups)

Any time economists, politicians and businessmen talk about emerging markets, the conversation seems to drift invariably to China like the Death Star pulling in the Millennium Falcon. And it?s not only words; China frequently does the same tractor-pull with foreign investment, high-paying multinational jobs and talent. So how can a tiny country in the emerging world possibly compete?

This is one of my favorite topics, having done reporting trips to Israel, Rwanda, Colombia and Chile in the last year - and getting ready to do one to Singapore in October and hopefully Kenya early next year. The topic was also one of the better panels I attended at The World Economic Forum?s ?Summer Davos? a few days ago. Appropriately enough it was for a small audience, while most people flocked to a panel about China. It?s also appropriate that I?m writing about it on the plane from huge China, headed back to tiny San Francisco?a city of well under a million that nevertheless houses the bulk of the hottest Web 2.0 companies.

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