WHAT THE ECONOMIST ACTUALLY WROTE ABOUT SCOTLAND

(Skint? Us? Think again Engloaned)

On 14 April 2012, The Economist produced an article, about independence for Scotland, which contains a lot of useful factual information.

According to the article (The Scottish play):

1. "Scotland could probably go it alone now".

2. In 2010-11 Scotland produced about 10% of Britain's GDP.

Yet it has only 8.4% of Britain's population.

Website for this image

3. The export value of Scotch whisky rose by 71% between 2006 and 2011 to £4.23 billion ($6.72 billion).

Over the same period food exports have risen by a similarly impressive 65%. (Could luxury exports help finance independence? )

Oil revenues, in 2010-11, amounted to £8.8 billion.

In 2010-11 Scotland’s GDP was £145 billion.


Scotland by indigo_girl

4. "North Sea oil and gas would have made Scotland rich ... Declassified documents show that, in the 1970s, Treasury officials reckoned Scotland could comfortably have paid its own way."

Oil and gas prices are soaring.

The average oil price was $62 a barrel in 2009; in 2011 it was $111.

A ... bet for continued growth is oil services. There is already a thriving hub of technical firms around Aberdeen.

Alex Salmond in the USA

Of course, The Economist article contains a lot of spin.

It tries to tell us that SMALL countries are VULNERABLE.

The Economist does not mention that Ireland and Iceland, in spite of their banking difficulties, are still today much richer than Britain.

And, it is the small countries that are still the richest in the world:

Luxembourg (which has no oil)

Singapore (which has no oil)

Norway

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Macau

Liechtenstein

Bermuda

Our main worry is that AN 'INDEPENDENT' SCOTLAND WOULD NOT BE INDEPENDENT.


Scotland by cessna152towser

"Alex Salmond rightly points out, Britain is hardly in surplus right now - for every £6 Osborne (UK economics minister) spends, he has to scrounge £1 from the international debt markets...

"So now is not a good time for London politicians to say that a country which can’t balance its books is not a viable country.

"The UK has not balanced its books for ten years now, and probably won’t for most of this decade."

The right-wing London based 'Spectator' magazine admits that an independent Scotland could pay its own way


On 15 April 2012, in The Herald, columnist Iain Macwhirter comments on The Economist's recent article on independence for Scotland.

(Skint? Us? Think again Engloaned)

Macwhirter points out:

1. "Scotland would be one of the six wealthiest countries in the world if it became independent tomorrow."

2. The Economist dismissed oil as a spent resource.

But, "there is still 40% of the black stuff under the North Sea worth at least £1 trillion.

"Scotland's oil and gas industry is set to generate a revenue stream of £379 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCooper's analysis in November 2011."

3. Scotland has "25% of Europe's offshore wind and tidal energy potential."

4. Scotland has five of the world's top universities, more than much larger countries like France.

Scotland produces more graduates per head than any country in Europe.

5. Tourism and whisky exports bring in more than £8bn a year.

"Even the financial services sector is still pulling in cash."

Despite the banking crash.

6. The capital of Great Bankruptland is Loandon.

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