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| True Scotsman |
Salmond unveils 'wise men' plan for Scottish economyAlex Salmond is planning too recruit economic experts if he becomes First Minister in next years Holyrood Elections.http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1221772006 Salmond unveils 'wise men' plan for Scottish economy EDDIE BARNES POLITICAL EDITOR ALEX Salmond has pledged to recruit a council of economic gurus to help steer Scotland's economy if he is elected as First Minister next year. The SNP leader wants to copy a 50-year-old model from the US under which a Council of Economic Advisers provides the president with impartial advice on the best way forward. The group would be entirely independent and, under Salmond's plan, would be made up of the country's top academic economists and business people. The council would have the job of monitoring what the SNP is describing as its new "golden rules": annual 4% growth, a 3% growth in 10 years in the population, and a target to become one of the world's 15 most competitive countries. The SNP's focus on the Scottish economy will grow over the coming months as Salmond embarks on a tour of Scandinavian countries this autumn. He will attempt to make the case for an independent Scotland joining what he has termed an "arc of prosperity", stretching from Iceland to Finland. Norway, Iceland and Sweden are all in the top 10 countries in Europe in terms of GDP per head. Salmond aims to show that Scotland could join these small European nations. A spokesman said: "By engaging with experts, both at home and abroad, we hope to identify and move forward a Scottish consensus on the economy, which is key to our future economic success." The SNP argue that an independent Scotland, with full control over its oil reserves, would overnight become the richest part of the UK, and would leap to eighth in the league table of European wealthy nations, up from its current 18th. |
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| Economist |
Sounds like a good idea, but if Salmond can show me two professional economists who agree on anything, then I'll give him a fiver. 
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| SLG |
It's a good idea. They don't need to agree, just come to some sort of consensus. Similar to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. | ||
| Economist |
To be honest it isn't the same as the MPC where they take a vote at the end of deliberations as to what to do with the interest rate. There's a whole number of policies available to achieving economic growth. Some think that we need to shrink the size of the public sector to get growth, others don't. Some policies will work, some won't some will be counterproductive. But provided the government of the day have a clear strategy then there probably isn't too much of a problem and they can avoid the same problems that Margaret Thatcher had when she had her own informal group of economic advisors from business and the academic community. |
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