The corona virus means that Sweden risks ending up in an economic depression, according to Kerstin Hessius, CEO of the third AP Fund and former Deputy Governor of the Riksbank. She compares with Germany in the 20s and the USA in the 30s.
– What is happening now is that there is no demand in any industry. All companies are only involved in cutting costs but they have no income at all. The consequences are that unemployment rises second by second, says Hessius in Thursday’s Aktuellt.
You say we’re at risk of depression, what would that mean?
– It is mass unemployment, it is about unemployment of 20 to 40 percent. This means that there are very few businesses to go to. There is a risk even with all this money being blown out that we will get hyperinflation along with the fact that we have no demand in the economy.
– You have to start going back and compare with Germany in the 20s and the USA in the 30s. You have to understand the seriousness of this.
But many would probably feel that it is to draw the comparisons very far?
– We’re not there. But if this continues, we risk getting there. You have to understand that you can not shut down the whole economy and expect it to come back.
Sweden in the Time of Corona 