Iceland. It seems so isolated. So far away.
The current economic crisis is providing a fascinating display of the consequences of the interconnectedness between world economies. The economy of the remote island-nation of Iceland is in a deep-freeze after being pummeled throughout the U.S. "credit crunch."
The situation is dire for the small country with inflation and unemployment skyrocketing, seemingly overnight. Currently, Icelanders await badly needed assistance from the IMF, the UK, Poland and other world powers to keep their economy from altogether collapsing.
Not so long ago, Iceland's economy was gangbusters, sporting the fourth-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world.
Why do we even care about Iceland's economic woes?
Well, one can only wonder if Iceland finds itself playing the "canary-in-the-coal-mine" role on a much larger economic stage.
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Articles of interest:
- Stunned Icelanders Struggle After Economy’s Fall -NYTimes.com, 11.8.08
- more about iceland -NYTimes.com
- Iceland Targets Debts And Awaits IMF Loan -Wall Street Journal, 11.7.08
- "Poland plans to help Iceland in financial crisis"-washingtonpost.com
- "Iceland, Mired in Debt, Blames Britain for Woes" -NYTimes, 11.1.08
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