Iceland's Journey

In late 2008, Iceland became the first victim of the global financial crisis. Its entire banking system crumbled in just a few days. Three years later, a recovery is underway and confidence is returning. Find out how Iceland turned its economy around with help from the IMF.

Speakers:

Jón Daníelsson (Reader in Finance, London School of Economics)

Gylfi Arnbjörnsson (President, Icelandic Confederation of Trade Unions)

Steingrímur Sigfússon (Minister of Finance, Iceland)

Finnur Oddsson (Managing Director, Iceland Chamber of Commerce)

Paul Krugman (New York Times Columnist and Professor, Princeton University)

Julie Kozack (IMF Mission Chief for Iceland)

Simon Johnson (Professor, MIT)

Kristin Ingolfsdottir (Rector, University of Iceland)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Iceland
• banking crisis
• Icesave
• Glitnir
• Landsbankinn
• Paul Krugman
• Nobel prize
• New York Times
• Simon Johnson
• Nordic
• Reykjavik
• capital controls
• krona
• hedge funds
• Poul Thomsen
• eurozone crisis
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Greece
• inflation
• flexible exchange rate
• Jon Danielsson
• Steingrímur Sigfússon
• euro
• green economy

[juan1974mendez]

@tarrker i think most US citizens have a high education, and are skillful. i think the weak spot is the emphasis in not welcoming ideas from other societies. It is a very working society having less analysis of the tricks in the economy. If US citizens were more in touch also with the past, they would consume less basing on the depression era.

[PrometheusMovement]

so.... whos fault was it?

[ithesisko]

This is a lie! Island refused to pay and implemented direct democracy.

[leef0flife]

BANK RUN -TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO WEST INDIES, REPUBLIC BANK, ROYAL BANK, FIRST CITIZEN BANK and SCOTIABANK thousand of customers simultaneously withdraw all their funds, because they believe that the banks might go into bankruptcy, and for fear of the bank becoming insolvent and that they the customer, will lose all their money.people are putting their money in smaller credit union banks or keeping it at home.

[tarrker]

It's a very interesting look at guys in suits talking. But seriously, I think, here in the US, the powers that be would just be like "What crisis?". They're already sort of doing that now. Americans, as a whole, are just SO under educated as well. Something like this would hit us hard.

[1isaM111er]

The only way to create jobs is to cut deeper and establish free markets.

[RTC1655]

Iceland - as the mini-economy it is - is a perfect IMF showcase. The PIIGS, however, must go the austerity way. There aren't enough money (in the world) for propping up these countries.

All politicians and economists are cherry picking graphs that supports their models, Krugman is no exception. You can not print your way to prosperity, Krugman, only "academians" can possibly believe such a thing.

[JulioHuato]

How nice that the IMF has become sort of a "good guy" (Krugman) now that European countries are being hit by crises. It would have been very nice if this IMF epiphany had happened in the 1980s when Latin America was on the bad spot. Hard not to draw radical racial/ethnic/political conclusions from this.

[GreatG0dOm]

Should be a good time to buy an Icelandic horse in Iceland. They can be shipped. Icelandic horses are fantastic hardy intelligent small horses.

[tevezteveztevez]

so, why not apply these methods to Greece and Italy? presently, we only see good old austerity as the proposed "solution"