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About John McLaren

Independent economist at Scottish Trends. Previously worked at Fiscal Affairs Scotland, H.M. Treasury and at the Scottish Office. Honorary Professor of Public Policy at the Adam Smith Business School, Glasgow University.

How Scotland ranks

October 1, 2019 by John McLaren Leave a Comment

How Scotland ranks

‘Although lying mid-table, Scotland can still be viewed as a relatively prosperous OECD nation. This ranking is likely to apply regardless of whether Scotland is part of the UK or independent. However, independence would still pose questions over how to reduce Scotland’s relatively large fiscal deficit.’

GERS 2019 and indyref2

August 22, 2019 by John McLaren Leave a Comment

GERS 2019 and indyref2

‘The comment by the Scottish Finance Secretary at the time of publication that “Scotland’s economy and public finances are strong” seems fanciful given any reasonable analysis of recent low economic growth figures and a still high, by international standards, fiscal deficit.’

What does the recent failure to improve Scotland’s productivity ranking tell us?

May 30, 2019 by John McLaren 3 Comments

What does the recent failure to improve  Scotland’s productivity ranking tell us?

‘All in all, great care needs to be applied when making judgments comparing national productivity levels. As a result, choosing a shift in international rankings as a government policy target is probably unwise.’

Indyref2 and the economic fundamentals

May 2, 2019 by John McLaren 1 Comment

Indyref2 and the economic fundamentals

‘Underlying (onshore) economic and fiscal fundamentals are little different now to at the time of the first referendum. Economic debate around any second referendum is therefore likely to concentrate on: productivity growth prospects; how to narrow Scotland’s fiscal deficit; and how to improve the Current Account.’

Brexit lessons for #indyref2

March 15, 2019 by John McLaren 9 Comments

Brexit lessons for #indyref2

Hence in the same sense that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ is a meaningless statement (without defining Brexit), then so too would ‘Independence means Independence’ be.

Measuring Scotland’s economy: a new index of ‘success’

October 25, 2017 by John McLaren Leave a Comment

Measuring Scotland’s economy: a new index of ‘success’

‘The Index goes beyond a simple measure of GDP growth in trying to determine relative changes in well-being across similarly developed countries. Indeed, given the tenuous link between government policy and short term economic growth, the Index is better suited to identifying areas which government can influence in order to improve the economic fundamentals’.

About Sceptical Scot

Welcome to Sceptical Scot, Scotland’s premier non-tribal forum for passionate, informed debate. Sceptical Scot is for all who care about Scotland’s future, regardless of how they vote: for party, independence or union, EU or Brexit. We aim to provide an arena that is both broader and deeper than current online/print offers with a rich diet of well-researched, polemical, thought-provoking writing. Read more »

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  • Drugs, poverty and entertainment November 23, 2019
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The Sceptical Scot cartoon

GERS 2019 and indyref2

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