From one island to another: presentation examines financial crises of Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador

As cold-water islands with a shared history, Newfoundland and Labrador and Iceland are often compared. This time, researchers are looking at what one island can learn from the other about getting through a financial crisis. They will be sharing their findings at a free online public event on March 30 at 1 pm Atlantic, hosted by the Institute of Island Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island.

While the pressing financial catastrophe in Newfoundland and Labrador and the 2008 banking crisis in Iceland both seemed to happen suddenly, this study shows they both had deep roots. “Neither government heeded warnings before their crisis, and both had poor communications throughout their crisis,” said Mark Stoddart, Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the authors of the study. “In Iceland, however, public outrage created a turning point that we haven’t yet seen in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

This research, undertaken by Professor Stoddart and Dr. Ásthildur Elva Bernharðsdóttir, an independent research scholar at ReykjavíkAkademían in Iceland, is a part of the Sustainable Island Futures project coordinated by Dr. Jim Randall, the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability at UPEI. The project aims to develop a better understanding of the sustainable development practices and potential of small islands and is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

For more information and to register for the event, visit islandstudies.com/islandlectureseries-march2021.