https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/56554 2026-04-20T05:32:28Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45074 Title: Book review : Malta’s EU presidency : a study in a small state presidency of the Council of the EU Abstract: Malta took the helm of the European Union (EU) at a time when Europe was buckling under the weight of a refugee crisis, experiencing a slow economic recovery in the face of austerity, facing rising populism, witnessing a weakening of the transatlantic alliance, and nervously attesting political fragmentation. These combined factors have placed significant pressure on the structures of the EU; and policymakers in the West may be finding themselves unable to cope with unfolding events. Yet, the overarching message of the book is that, despite the intrinsic limitations of being a small state, Malta “managed the Presidency with robustness, meeting many of its targets, brokering compromise amongst the member states and in negotiations with the European Parliament, as well as utilising its limited human and financial resources to their maximum capacity” (p. 6). 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45073 Title: Book review : Achieving sustainable e-government in Pacific island states Abstract: From tribal lore to the printing press, to the present era of fast and cheap electronic communication, the ability of both rulers and ruled to access information has had profound governance ramifications. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are the latest in the evolution of mass communication, and offer vast potential to transform governance and the dialogue between citizens and governments. Rowena Cullen and Graham Hassall’s book Achieving sustainable e-government in Pacific island states provides a timely examination of the advent of e-government in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45068 Title: The competitiveness of small European countries : a focus on Montenegro Authors: Katnic, Milorad; Boskovic, Bojana Abstract: Competitiveness is of particular importance in the countries of the European Union and in the countries that are on the way to becoming members, especially after the adoption of the new Lisbon Agenda. Small countries are as a rule highly vulnerable to external shocks, face limitations in their ability to exploit the benefits of economies of scale and have very limited diversification possibilities a small population usually means limited human resources for the development of administrative capacity and for the workforce in general. In addition, due to the indivisibility of overhead costs, small states, have limited resources for innovation and the application of advanced technologies. Because of these characteristics, one expects that a small economy will find it difficult to meet EU competitiveness standards. A small economy on the path to joining the European Union, such as Montenegro, therefore must develop an effective administrative setup and an efficient regulatory framework in order to foster entrepreneurship and innovation to meet the mentioned competitiveness challenges. 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45067 Title: Size, competitiveness and FDIs : small or transition country curse? Authors: Velickovski, Igor; Petreski, Marjan Abstract: The objective of the paper is to assess the relationship between a set of competitiveness indicators and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows with reference to the size and transition-economy status of a heterogeneous set of 60 countries. Results suggest that an increase of competitiveness is robustly, statistically and sizably related to an increase of FDI inflows. Goods market efficiency, market size and business sophistication were identified to have been particularly important for FDIs. However, the positive relationship between competitiveness and FDI is weakened or wiped out in a small country, suggesting that, because of their size, small countries need to undertake extra efforts in converting their improvements in competitiveness to work in favour of FDI attraction. On the other hand, we do not find robust evidence that transition economies are disadvantaged in improving their competitiveness to attract FDIs. Given that many transition economies are small, we suggest that it has been rather the size of the country and not the fact that it has gone through a transition process, which may have affected how its competitiveness works for attracting FDI. 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z