This week’s Scottish Budget comes at a crucial time for Scotland’s economy, with the Scottish Government needing to set out a clear plan for how it intends to support growth and productivity in Scotland, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI).
In its latest Economic Commentary, published today (Tuesday 12 December), the University of Strathclyde-based independent research institute says that, whilst the outlook is set to improve next year, Brexit uncertainty and ongoing weak demand in the Scottish economy will act to dampen growth.
Scotland’s economy grew by just 0.5% over the past year, one-third the rate in the UK as a whole. FAI analysts’ point out that whilst employment has held up well in Scotland, this has been at the cost of falling productivity, which has now declined for seven consecutive quarters.
Economic Perspective articles:
- Perspective 1 – What might slower economic growth in Scotland mean for Scotland’s income tax revenues?
- Perspective 2 – The transition to a low carbon energy system: insights on the role of the oil and gas sector
- Perspective 3 – Scotland’s Innovation Performance: a review of recent evidence
- Perspective 4 – The performance of Scotland’s high growth companies
Authors
The Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) is a leading economy research institute based in the Department of Economics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.