World economy will grow by 3.7 per cent in 2014 and 2015; an improvement on the 3.1 per cent last year, but still a sluggish recovery by historical standards. Growth prospects have improved in advanced economies, particularly in the US, but have deteriorated in a number of emerging market economies....

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Speaking note, Royal Society of Edinburgh, January 2014

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  Background The availability of bank finance to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is important to allow SMEs to start up and finance investment for growth. There has been widespread comment regarding the continued difficulty SMEs perceive in obtaining external finance since the...

This paper considers which currency option would be best for an independent Scotland. We examine three currency options: being part of a sterling currency zone, adopting the euro, or having an independent currency. No currency option is the best when considered against all criteria. Therefore,...