Iceland is a small, isolated, resource-dependent country — just like Australia. It has a quite remarkable economic history, and in the last century, has fought its way from a position of relative poverty to being one of the richest countries in the world. For the most part it has pursued a Nordic approach to economic development, and has thereby circumvented some of the small government stances of market-based economies. In the context of its famed financial bubble, and its experience of boom, bust and revival in the last two decades, Iceland’s recent history might indeed be said to have generated a new Icelandic saga, as its brief dalliance with Austrian School economics first spawned an unprecedented boom, only then to see self-congratulation metamorphose into the jailing of some ‘bankster’ executives.

Today, Iceland is affluent, and its people report themselves to be amongst the happiest in the world. Australia aspires to similar goals, and incidental comparisons to the Australian economy are made throughout, to highlight differences between a Nordic perspective on socio-economic policy, and the more orthodox Australian perspective. Significant differences are apparent in resource extraction policy, and large differences are also apparent in the GFC context, although both countries have navigated some troubled waters in its wake. Environmental issues have also loomed large in both countries, with Iceland anxious to protect its local waters and fishing industry, and Australia split over decisions regarding new coal mines and possible damage to its Great Barrier Reef.

像澳大利亚一样，冰岛是一个孤立的小国，资源贫乏。它有非常出色的经济历史，在上个世纪，它已经从相对贫穷的位置发展成为世界上最富有的国家之一。在大多数情况下，它对经济发展采取了北欧方法，从而规避了一些以市场经济为基础的小政府立场。在著名的金融泡沫以及过去二十年来的繁荣，萧条和复兴的背景下，冰岛的近期历史确实可以说是引发了冰岛的新传奇，因为它与奥地利学派经济学的短暂交往首次产生了前所未有的繁荣，然后才看到自我祝贺变成了一些“银行家”高管的监狱。

今天，冰岛富裕，其人民自称是世界上最幸福的国家之一。澳大利亚渴望实现类似的目标，并且在整个过程中都与澳大利亚经济进行了偶然的比较，以突出北欧人对社会经济政策的看法与更为传统的澳大利亚看法之间的差异。在资源开采政策上存在明显差异，在全球金融危机背景下也存在明显差异，尽管两国都在此后陷入困境。两国都迫切希望解决环境问题，冰岛急于保护其当地水域和渔业，而澳大利亚则就新煤矿及其对大堡礁可能造成的损害作出了决定。