1. The economy is more resilient than we think
One lesson that we economists and journalists can learn is that the economy is more resilient than we thought, says Susanne Spector, chief economist at Danske Bank.
She thinks it is too easy for us to focus on what is most affected, and underestimates the economy's ability to adapt to new conditions.
If we had known at the beginning of 2020 what to expect, we would not have believed that the economy in 2026 would be what it is now, says Susanne Spector.
2. The stimuli became too much
Robert Bergqvist, senior economist at SEB, believes that the most important lesson from the crises is that governments and central banks stepped up support and stimulus far too aggressively.
That governments pressed the start button for support, at the same time as interest rates were low and the money printing presses started, it was too much, he says.
He hopes that future crises will be handled with a little more caution.
3. Do better analysis
Robert Bergqvist thinks that the analysis of the actual cause when inflation took off after the pandemic was a bit sketchy.
"During the inflation shock, stimulus was issued and companies and households were encouraged to act as if nothing had happened. But it was the production side that had disruptions, the demand side was enormous. This laid the foundation for an inflation the likes of which we have never seen before," says Robert Bergqvist.
Of course, he thinks it's easy to say this in retrospect, but still - one lesson is to try to do better analyses, he thinks.
4. Forecasts increasingly difficult
After the pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, first came the war, with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and then Donald Trump's tariff war against the outside world and the war against Iran and the stoppage of oil supplies. Who could have foreseen this development?
"We have never, not in the 40 years I have worked with forecasts, had to count on war. It is a new element to count on. A new world order is being created, surrounded by war and conflict," says Robert Bergqvist.
Then we have US President Donald Trump.
He is a systemic risk. Everything he does affects the entire global system.
Tariffs, threats and oil embargoes mean that both countries and companies are now doing everything they can to reduce their vulnerability in an uncertain world.
"Resilience, that's a new element. We no longer want to be integrated, we want to avoid ending up in the lap of others," says Robert Bergqvist.
5. Interest rates may rise and house prices may fall
Homes are no longer money machines that constantly make us richer, notes Sharon Lavie, private economist at Lendo.
No one could believe that interest rates would rise to 5-6 percent, she says.
We have learned the hard way that buying a home is a risk, and it seems like we have become a little more cautious about bidding wildly in the housing market, she thinks.
Christina Sahlberg, private economist at Skandia, agrees.
"House prices could not only go up, they could also go down. It's a hard lesson for many. But you have to experience it yourself to understand," she says.
6. The economy is fluctuating
The fact that the economy is turning may not be something that someone who has only experienced the good times when interest rates were low and housing prices were rising might believe. But perhaps we have now learned, believes Sharon Lavie.
You can't take for granted that the economy will be good for a long time, she says.
However, Christina Sahlberg doesn't believe that this knowledge will really sink in. Despite everything that has happened in the last six years.
We are who we are, we are made to live on the savannah. We react incredibly strongly to threats. We get scared when the stock market shakes and sell everything.
No, we probably haven't learned that much. Some may have learned that stock markets go down when war breaks out, but go up again. But you sell in a downturn, it gives you a feeling of taking action, says Christina Sahlberg.
