Fiscal policy

How we set policy baselines

Author / Creator: Scottish Fiscal Commission

Media type: Report

Date published: 2024

A policy baseline is the set of values we include in our forecast covering all policy aspects of the tax
and social security systems. This includes factors such as tax and social security rates, thresholds,
payment amounts, eligibility criteria and implementation timings.


Careful What you Wish for? Risk and Reward with Scottish Tax Devolution

Author / Creator: Stuart Mcintyre

Media type: Article

Date published:

Debates on fiscal devolution typically focus upon the rewards, but as the case of Scottish tax devolution shows, the risks are real and require careful management. Politicians on all sides need to be careful what they wish for.


How might an independent Scotland build fiscal capacity?

Author / Creator: Tim Besley

Media type: Article

Date published: 2022

Developing a sense of common purpose is critical for nation-building


What new institutions of economic policy would an independent Scotland need?

Author / Creator: Gemma Tetlow

Date published: 2022

Building trust in a post-independence Scottish government’s commitments to sound economic policy and sustainable public finances  requires strong, operationally independent institutions 


Building a New Scotland: A stronger economy with independence

Author / Creator: Scottish Government

Media type: Report

Date published:

Scottish Government proposals for the economy of an independent Scotland.


The Independence of Scotland: Self-Government and the Shifting Politics of Union

Author / Creator: Michael Keating

Media type: Book

Date published: 2009

What this book brings out in an exceptionally lucid fashion, is that the Anglo-Scottish union derives much of its strength from its inherent flexibility. Keating encourages us to think about the extent to which its latest ‘crisis’ can be accommodated by this suppleness or whether constant flexing will result in a stress fracture


Scotland’s Fiscal Future

Author / Creator: Craig Dalzell

Media type: Policy Paper

Date published:

The quest for GDP and GDP Growth is not sustainable in a finite world.  Metrics such as environmental impact, inequality and wellbeing are far more important and only by elevating them above the quest for “growth at all costs” can a truly fair and sustainable Scotland be created.