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F585: Latvia and Iceland Compared and Contrasted
1st June 2014
Latvia and Iceland figure prominently in the pre-release material for the F585 June 2014 paper. Both have chosen different approaches to addressing their internal and external imbalances. Latvia is now a member of the Euro Zone. Iceland has suspended her application to join the European Single Market and continues to operate with a floating currency + some residual capital controls.These charts below track their recent economic performance focusing specifically on government debt, economic growth, unemployment, inflation and trade balances. Which country has achieved the best overall macroeconomic performance in the last few years? Which important bits of contextual information can you jot down to use - along with the pre-release material - for the exam?
Investment (share of GDP)
Exports of goods and services (annual % change)
Government debt (% of GDP)
Current account balance (% of GDP)
Unemployment rate (% of the labour force)
Inflation
Real GDP Growth
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.