stewartb
‘The multiplier effect is one of the most important concepts you can use when applying, analysing and evaluating the effects of changes in government spending and taxation.’ It’s hard to understate this!
A TuS blog post (May 19, 2025) entitled How the ‘Scottish’ media have singularly failed to investigate and fully report on the true state of the ferry services’ had this: ‘on the decision taken to procure two large CalMac ferries from Ferguson’s and then to nationalise the yard, the mainstream media studiously avoids any consideration of the economic benefits derived from sustaining employment in the yard and its domestic supply chain. They studiously avoid any reflections on the ‘counterfactual’ – i.e. assessing what would have happened if the ferries had not been procured from Ferguson’s and the latter not nationalised.’ To put this another way: They studiously avoid any consideration of the multiplier!
Every time the UK government allocates a portion of its expenditure in the GERS report to Scotland – i.e. spend of Scotland’s tax revenues that Westminster makes on Scotland’s ‘behalf’ – and that money is spent outside Scotland, the Scottish economy has no or at best a much reduced or zero (depending on e.g. Scotland-based supply chain involvement) economic multiplier.
We in Scotland have a much reduced or perhaps approaching zero immediate economic benefit from the spend compared to that spend being both for and made within Scotland. If spend by Westminster/Whitehall on Scotland’s behalf is made in England, the economic benefit – as measured by economic output or employment or income (employee compensation) or in terms of Gross Value Add (GVA) – will accrue to England’s economy.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I’ve been shouting about the multiplier effect for many years. Time to get out of this so-called union
LikeLike
The last few RBoS shares held by the UKG are to go on sale in the next few days.
It will complete the transformation of Scotland’s RBofS into England’s NatWest.
https://news.sky.com/story/british-taxpayers-10-2bn-loss-on-bailout-of-rbs-13373259
“In aggregate, that means total proceeds from NatWest since 2008 are expected to hit £35.3bn.”
(Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group officially changed its name to NatWest Group plc on July 22, 2020)
LikeLike
Do any remember “A pound spent in Croydon is worth far more than a pound spent in Strathclyde” ?
Do any recognise where the ‘takings’ of PFI from multiple enforced projects in Scotland are going for god alone knows how many more years ? South east England – Viz the divider effect.
Slightly OT, I note Starmer has finally been spooked into recognising the perilous rather than parlous nature of ‘England’s’ water supplies, citing new reservoirs as the idiot’s answer in the engineering class.
– Nobody, and I do mean NOBODY has questioned where the source water is going to come from in the south-east of England for these ‘look a squirrel’ reservoirs, with rivers replete with shit and not a damned thing they can do about it before SE England’s annual drought returns with a vengeance
– I frankly doubt any of the billions in PFI profits will be volunteered to assist the south-east’s imminent dilemma of no water or power.
As per Stewart’s point in the ultimate paragraph, it is to no financial benefit to Scots to solve a problem in SE England predicted over 50 odd years ago, but will soon become a humanitarian issue – “A pound spent in Croydon is worth far more than a pound spent in Strathclyde” fairy will be ever be reinvented.
LikeLiked by 5 people
It would appear that Rachel Reeves is about to spend money on ‘the regions’. Wonder if any will come Scotland’s way?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/30/rachel-reeves-to-announce-billions-in-regional-spending-after-treasury-rule-changes
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think we both know the answer to that Legerwood.
LikeLiked by 2 people