Smaller jurisdictions are perhaps better able to rebound from boom and bust cycles than larger ones.

That from Rob Greenwood, the Director of Memorial University’s Harris Centre which is hosting the North Atlantic Forum and Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference this week.

Participants from across Canada and countries like Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland are in the capital city for the conference. Greenwood – who was Linda Swain’s in-studio guest for On-Target St. John’s – says Canada, and Newfoundland and Labrador hold a lot of potential because of their rich natural resources.

Boom and bust cycles are not unusual because of the nature of resource-based industries, but the recovery is sometimes quicker in smaller populations.

Greenwood cited the recent boom, bust, and recovery in Iceland as an example. He says many thought Iceland was finished after its bank collapse, but the island nation has proven them wrong.

Greenwood used the spread of disease as one analogy. He says in larger, continental populations a disease can take a long time to move through, whereas in smaller, isolated populations it moves through quickly, and can be shaken off quicker.