Ten Years After: Iceland´s Unfinished Business

Kafli í Robert Z. Aliber og Gylfi Zoega (ritstj.), The 2008 Global Financial Crisis in Retrospect, Palgrave, 2019.

Abstract

This study discusses the economic, political, and judicial aftermath of Iceland´s financial collapse in 2008. It considers lessons learned, or not learned, with emphasis on unsettled issues concerning the distribution of incomes and wealth, banking, and politics. The study makes three main points. First, the measurement of income flows and living standards needs to be adjusted in two respects. Second, since the crisis, Ireland has made a significantly stronger recovery than Iceland in terms of per capita income. Third, Iceland´s economic recovery from the crisis is marred by a visible deterioration of various components of the country´s social capital.