Hubert Büchel Der Kleinstaat aus ökonomischer Sicht. Ergänzende Anmerkungen Summary Little economic research has been devoted to the quesrion of the size of a country. Well- known are the principles of economies of scale. As a result, a large market without trade bar- riers is considered as an advantage. Is there no feasibility to realize economies of scale, the com- petitive capacity must be attained in some other way: speciaüzation and niche production. Due to 
limited resources the small State 
has to decide 
between seif 
restraint or dependence. In Order 
to attract 
investment, special 
legislation can be introduced. 
Small states are relatively more dependent on imports and exports. The aspect of the size of a country can be of relevance with regard to the public sector. Fol- lowing the economic theory of federalism, several criteria have implications on administrative districts: the minimum supply of government services, the minimum project size and the opti­ mal size of an enterprise, the diffusion of benefits, external effects, spill overs, the undividabi- lity of public goods. In relation to these conditions the small State willing to avoid higher costs must find its own strategies. In its administration it can use the advantages of small organizations: low planning and decision making costs, proximity to the preferences of the members of the collective, fle­ xible decision making without long chains of hierarchy. The need to find agreements with neighbours corresponds with the "tendency" of an ever closer and "smaller" world: technical progress and globalisation result in a spreading of effects. Solutions are sought in a broader framework. The concept of a national State 
is therefore sometimes regarded as outdated. However, the Optimum for complex systems cannot be fixed in a definitive way. It lies partly below or above the given size of a country. 97