Public Finance

How much debt does Scotland owe on Independence.

Author / Creator: Richard Murphy

Media type: Video

Date published: 2020

On some calculations, England would owe Scotland money upon independence.


Who owns the UK national Debt? Is it good for us and the future?

Author / Creator: Richard Murphy

Media type: Video

Date published: 2020

Public debt is a sign that asset managers want to buy the the gilts offered. It is a sign of confidence.


How much debt does Scotland owe on Independence.

Author / Creator: Richard Murphy

Media type: Video

Date published: 2020

England will owe Scotland money upon independence.


Going for growth – or broke?

Author / Creator: David Eiser

Media type: Article

Date published: 2022

Reaction to the Tax, Stamp Duty, Investment proposals in September 2022 UK budget.


Scotland is Not Subsidised by Taxpayers in the rest of the UK

Author / Creator: Mammoth Whale

Date published: 2021

Scotland is not subsidised by other regions of the UK – this is an indisputable accounting fact.


The “Fiscal Deficit” in Wales: why it does not represent an accurate picture of the opening public finances of an Independent Wales

Author / Creator: John Doyle

Media type: Report

Date published: 2022

The UK government statement of the financial deficit of an independent Wales is grossly exaggerated.


Scotland’s Finances – The Truth

Author / Creator: Business for Scotland

Media type: Blog

Date published: 2022

There is no set of accounts that tells us how an independent Scotland’s economy would fare, nor what its finances would look like. Not yet anyway.


Hiding the Truth

Author / Creator: John Jappy

Media type: Video

Date published: 2014

The videos of John Jappy and they should be compulsory viewing for every Scot


The Man Who Knew Too Much

Author / Creator: John Jappy

Media type: Blog

Date published: 2014

Jappy was among the first to scotch the myth that Scotland was subsidised by London. In truth it was, and is the reverse, Scotland pays more to England’s coffers than it receives in annual allowance.


The self-financing state: An institutional analysis

Author / Creator: Josh Ryan-Collins

Media type: Working Paper

Date published: 2022

"The UK Government creates new money and purchasing power when it undertakes expenditure, rather than spending being financed by taxation from, or debt issuance to, the private sector."


What Scotland can learn from Irish independence: it won’t control interest rates and inequality will widen

Author / Creator: Eoin McLaughlin

Media type: Article

Date published: 2022

Managing the transition [to independence] won’t be straightforward. Ireland’s experience shows that the need for fiscal discipline may be politically costly and adjustment may not be shared equally.


Essential pre-budget reading – the 7 key messages from our budget report

Author / Creator: David Eiser

Media type: report

Date published:

The Scottish government will publish its budget for 2022/23. It will be the first budget of this session of parliament. Kate Forbes’ third budget in charge of the Scottish Government’s finances will arguably the most difficult she has faced. The Scottish government will have more resources at its disposal than in 2019/20. But the challenges facing public services and the wider economy are far more acute now than they were then.


Kate’s budget blues

Author / Creator: David Eiser

Media type: Article

Date published:

“A core resource block grant in 2022/23 that is 8% higher than pre-pandemic might sound generous. But to deal with the pandemic’s legacy and underlying public services pressures it is anything but. Kate Forbes’ third budget may well be her most challenging.”


The Politics of Scotland’s Public Finances

Author / Creator: David Heald

Date published: 2020

The Barnett formula is a political convention reducing overt political conflict with the UK while maintaining fiscal autonomy.


Scotland the Brief

Author / Creator: Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp

Media type: book

Date published: 2020

All you need to know about Scotland's economy, its finances, independence and Brexit.


Nationalism and the politics of austerity: comparing Catalonia, Scotland, and Québec

Author / Creator: Daniel Beland

Media type: Academic Paper

Date published:

This analysis of the impact of austerity on nationalism stresses the role of blame as it interacts with political institutions and fiscal pressures.


Minimizing the Cost of Union: Fiscal Autonomy and the Case of Scotland

Author / Creator: Paul Hallwood

Media type: Academic Paper

Date published: 2020

Argues for federalism in public funding where taxation is devolved.  This would improve the link between public finance and democracy.


Ambiguous no more: Time to de-mystify the Barnett Formula

Author / Creator: J. R. Cuthbert

Media type: Academic Paper

Date published: 2020

The overall effect of the new Barnett funding system is to place Scotland in a vulnerable position, where it is at much greater risk of falling into a cycle of economic decline relative to the rest of the UK.


The Barnett Formula

Author / Creator: Matthew Keep

Media type: Briefing paper

Date published:

The Barnett formula calculates the annual change in the block grant. The formula doesn’t determine the total size of the block grant just the yearly change. For devolved services, the Barnett formula aims to give each country the same pounds-per-person change in funding.


Barnett formula

Author / Creator: Wikipedia

Media type: Wikipedia

Date published: 2021

The Barnett formula is a mechanism used by the Treasury in the UK to automatically adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern IrelandScotland and Wales to reflect changes in spending levels allocated to public services in England. The formula applies to a large proportion, but not the