‘One central purpose’? Tracking the Evolution of Strategic Approaches to Economic Development in Scotland

IF 0.5 Q4 POLITICAL SCIENCE

Scottish Affairs Pub Date : 2024-05-01 DOI:10.3366/scot.2024.0499

David Clelland

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The Scottish Government’s latest economic strategy aims for a ‘transformation’ of the Scottish economy, with higher levels of aggregate economic performance combined with greater equality, reduced poverty and environmental sustainability. In doing so it echoes similar ambitions expressed in Scottish economic development strategies since devolution in 1999. This article provides a contextual analysis of the strategic approaches to economic development pursued by successive administrations and the institutional arrangements to deliver them. In particular, it provides an account of how ‘economic development’ and its aims have been understood, the shifting balance between a prioritization of growth and distributional concerns, and the attention given to questions of geographically uneven development within Scotland. While there is a degree of continuity across these strategies, the trend has been towards a broadening set of aims around the economy, influenced by growing international interest in looking beyond GDP, concern about regional inequality and a need to reduce carbon emissions. Overall, however, these shifts have not yet marked a radical departure from the traditional underlying goal of seeking increased economic growth at the national level.

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一个中心目标"？追踪苏格兰经济发展战略方针的演变

苏格兰政府最新的经济战略旨在实现苏格兰经济的 "转型"，在提高经济总量的同时，实现更大程度的平等、减少贫困和环境可持续性。这与 1999 年权力下放以来苏格兰经济发展战略所表达的类似目标不谋而合。本文对历届政府推行的经济发展战略方针以及实现这些方针的制度安排进行了背景分析。特别是，文章阐述了对 "经济发展 "及其目标的理解方式、增长优先与分配问题之间的平衡变化，以及对苏格兰内部地域发展不平衡问题的关注。虽然这些战略在一定程度上具有连续性，但受国际社会对超越 GDP 的日益关注、对地区不平等的担忧以及减少碳排放的需求等因素的影响，围绕经济的一系列目标呈现出不断扩大的趋势。不过，总体而言，这些转变尚未彻底背离在国家层面寻求经济增长的传统基本目标。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Scottish Affairs POLITICAL SCIENCE-

CiteScore

1.20

自引率

25.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Scottish Affairs, founded in 1992, is the leading forum for debate on Scottish current affairs. Its predecessor was Scottish Government Yearbooks, published by the University of Edinburgh''s ''Unit for the Study of Government in Scotland'' between 1976 and 1992. The movement towards the setting up the Scottish Parliament in the 1990s, and then the debate in and around the Parliament since 1999, brought the need for a new analysis of Scottish politics, policy and society. Scottish Affairs provides that opportunity. Fully peer-reviewed, it publishes articles on matters of concern to people who are interested in the development of Scotland, often setting current affairs in an international or historical context, and in a context of debates about culture and identity. This includes articles about similarly placed small nations and regions throughout Europe and beyond. The articles are authoritative and rigorous without being technical and pedantic. No subject area is excluded, but all articles pay attention to the social and political context of their topics. Thus Scottish Affairs takes up a position between informed journalism and academic analysis, and provides a forum for dialogue between the two. The readers and contributors include journalists, politicians, civil servants, business people, academics, and people in general who take an informed interest in current affairs.