Abstract
By exploiting the fish stocks surrounding the country, Iceland was in the 20th century pulled from being one of the poorest and most backward societies in Europe to becoming one of the richest countries in the world. The economy was based on selling fish to the British — we provided them with cod for their ‘fish and chips’. Being based on fishing, Iceland’s economy is characterized by continuous boom and bust cycles. The crisis of 2008 might have been more profound than others, but this sort of volatility in the economy is nothing uncommon for Icelanders.
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© 2014 Eirikur Bergmann
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Bergmann, E. (2014). Coming of Age — Economic History. In: Iceland and the International Financial Crisis. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137332004_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137332004_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-46152-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-33200-4
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