Myth-busting
It was good to see the FT (paywall) taking up some of the myths of Icelandic recovery. Funnily enough, Icelanders have not been the proponents of the idea that Iceland is some sort of a model. From early on, after the collapse in October 2008, foreign economists have looked to Iceland in search for arguments for their various ideas, often with quite misunderstood facts and/or context.
More on this later – I’ve often mentioned these myths and will do more of it – but I was intrigued to see my Economonitor article, co-written with professor Thorolfur Matthiasson, University of Iceland, quoted by the FT as the work of “two Icelandic experts.” The article shows that the cost to Iceland of the collapse of the banks has indeed been substantial, 20-25% of GDP. There are now 355 tweets and 205 Facebook shares of the Economonitor article so it is far to say it has had a lively distribution.
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