Predicts Iceland is heading for tough economic times
“There is nothing to prevent a deep economic slump within the next five years,” says the prominent Icelandic economist Vilhjálmur Egilsson to Icelandic TV station Hringbraut.
"There is nothing to prevent a deep economic slump within the next five years," says the prominent Icelandic economist Vilhjálmur Egilsson to Icelandic TV station Hringbraut.
"This will probably hit us in the course of the next government", he is quoted as saying, reports Iceland Monitor.
According to Egilsson, who is a former Member of Parliament and Rector of Bifröst University, the current tourism boom is only going some way towards mitigating the effects.
Read also: - The Arctic will never be a destination for mass tourism
"In recent years, we have been knowingly adding wood to the fire and backing ourselves into a corner. The only way out is a crash," he warns.
The economist says the high wage rises are creating a bubble.
"The annual rise in the wage index has been in double figures for the past six months in a row, and it looks like this trend will continue", Egilsson comments.