On 14 September, a debate on the topic “State and economy” took place in the great hall of Tartu University, with the participation of two well-known economics professors Andres Arrak and Viktor Trasberg.

According to Andres Arrak, director of Institute of Entrepreneurship of Mainor Business School, the economic decline was necessary. He admitted that in the good times, stupid decisions were made by everyone – the private sector, the public sector, the consumers, the producers, the investors, the creditors, the borrowers and the state. He forecast that it will take at least a year before the Estonian economy gets back on its feet.

Viktor Trasberg, however, holds that the coalition that has been in charge of the economic policy for 7 years has ignored the basic principles of market economy and the fundamental truths written down in economic theory textbooks. In his opinion, demand was enhanced in the conditions of rapid economic growth and money is removed in circulation in the conditions of economic decline, thereby in turn enhancing the economic decline.