Scotland would not benefit from continuing to form a monetary union with the rest of the UK in the long-term, according to a study which concluded the UK economy is “dysfunctional”.
The Scottish Government’s stated preference is for an independent Scotland to retain the pound as part of a UK-wide currency union.
However, economist Margaret Cuthbert found joining a currency union with the rest of the UK could “condemn” Scotland to “continuing to share in the chronic underperformance which the dysfunctional UK currency area has exhibited in the past”.
In other findings, her study also concluded successive Westminster government policies have been more suited to London at the expense of most other countries and regions in the UK.
The new paper was published yesterday by the think tank the Jimmy Reid Foundation and analyses data covering three decades.
It says: “First, by examining the performance of the different parts of the UK economy over the past 30 years, it shows how dysfunctional the UK economy has been.
“Second, by comparing Scotland and the UK with other economies, it shows that the UK and Scotland have not been performing well and that in dynamic terms, the economy has been steered in a wrong direction.”
A Yes Scotland spokesman said: “Ms Cuthbert’s report supports what Yes Scotland has been saying that Scotland is one the wealthiest countries in the world, that it consistently outperforms the rest of the UK and that Westminster is not working for us.”