A guide to Scottish GDP

Marcus, Milan and McGeoch, Adam (2020) A guide to Scottish GDP. Fraser of Allander Economic Commentary, 44 (4). ISSN 2046-5378

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Abstract

The size of Scotland's economy is frequently used as an indicator of how well Scotland does compared to the rest of the UK. GDP often features in the news, for example in the current climate, where both the UK and Scotland have officially entered a recession following two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. But GDP isn't just one simple figure. This guide will discuss the difference between real GDP and nominal GDP, total GDP and GDP per head. It will discuss things like how much of the oil and gas extraction in the North Sea to include in any measurement of the size of the Scottish economy. The guide will show how the Scottish economy compares in the UK and the world. In addition, when asking whether Scotland is a wealthy, or successful, country, we consider the debate on wider measures of success and wellbeing, i.e. looking beyond GDP. In this guide we consider several other complimentary measures.

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