Customers at a Landsbankinn branch in Reykjavik, Iceland. The bank was established by the government during the 2008 crisis.
Credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times

I was, I think, one of the first commentators to notice years ago that a funny thing was happening in Iceland. The nation that was supposed to be ground zero for financial disaster was actually having a milder crisis than many others, thanks to heterodox policies: debt repudiation, capital controls and massive devaluation.

Now, as Matthew Yglesias at Vox recently pointed out, Iceland is getting ready to lift its capital controls, and its experience since the financial crisis still seems remarkably good, considering the circumstances.

And, as Mr. Yglesias wrote, the interesting contrast is Ireland, which is now being hailed as a success story for austerity because the country’s economic situation eventually stopped getting worse and has lately been getting a little better. Talk about lowering […]