THE annual GERS figures have been published, bringing a mixed bag of news for Scotland’s economic outlook.
The data showed that Scotland’s estimated deficit has decreased dramatically, down to 12.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) – a fall of 10.3 percentage points compared to last year.
GERS also estimated that Scotland's fiscal position was recovering faster than the UK as a whole, which saw a deficit drop of 8.4%.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said this reflected two factors: “A rebound in North Sea oil and gas revenues, which are overwhelmingly generated in Scottish waters; and stronger growth in GDP following a bigger fall in 2020-21 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The IFS further predicted that 2023’s GERS figures may be more “rosy” than these for Scotland’s economic outlook – something the institute suggested could provide a boost to Yes in the critical months ahead of the planned indyref2.
But how much credence should we give the figures? And why aren’t there any comparable data sets published for other nations and regions in the UK?
Why does the Scottish Government sign off on the figures? And what alternatives – like the pro-independence GERS promised by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes in 2021 – could there be on the table?
We put all these questions and more which had been sent in by our readers to international economics and accounting expert Professor Richard Murphy.
You can catch up with the whole conversation below, or find out what he had to say about Tory claims of a Union dividend here.
Your questions on GERS answered LIVE by economics expert Professor Richard Murphy https://t.co/Ne2dSurDAp
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