3 It enabled Swedish banks and industry to restructure at a more favourable exchange rate and allowed the economy to achieve a more sustainable long-run growth path. The current global crisis provides further support to this notion. Sweden’s growth rate rebounded post-crisis, but should be roughly in line with its average over the previous decade as the global economy recovers in coming years.
In South Africa’s case, the floating currency supported economic growth in the wake of the Argentine crisis of 2001, and in the current crisis the economy suffered a quite modest decline in the economy of 1.7% in 2009. Other factors also played an important role in supporting the economy in this period, including counter-cyclical fiscal policy and sustained high commodity prices.