Latvia suffered some of the worst losses of output and employment during the world financial crisis and recession (2008-2009), pursuing a strategy of “internal devaluation” while keeping its currency pegged to the euro.  Some have argued that these losses represent a severe policy failure; while others argue that the country’s economic recovery since the 4th quarter of 2009, and other achievements, show that the strategy succeeded. This forum presented these two opposing views.

Mark’s PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx).

• Anders Åslund is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and co-author of How Latvia Came through the Financial Crisis and author of The Last Shall Be the First: The East European Financial Crisis.
• Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He is co-author of “Latvia’s Internal Devaluation: A Success Story?” and”Latvia’s Recession: The Cost of Adjustment With An “Internal Devaluation.”

The video is available below or after the jump.