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Businesses are crucial to solving
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Scotland Productivity Forum

Scotland has a population of 5.4 million, with 70% living in the central belt, between the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Pre-Covid analysis found that in 9 out of 15 key indicators showed Scottish productivity fell behind other parts of the UK or international competitors in relation to four broad areas: business practices, skills and training, health and wellbeing and infrastructure and connectivity. The financial crisis and recession in 2008 has had a long-term impact on the Scottish economy, and in 2019, total hours worked remained below pre-recession levels.

Scotland’s Productivity Challenge: Exploring the issues

Find out more about the historic context, key issues and future research priorities of productivity in Scotland in our insights paper, which sits alongside an executive summary: a high-level overview highlighting its productivity picture, including a scattergraph showing the disparities on a NUTS3 level in comparison with the UK average, the primary drivers and bottlenecks, a SWOT analysis and a look to the future.

Insights Paper
Executive Summary

Key Contacts

Professor John Tsoukalas

Scotland Forum Lead
University of Glasgow

Carolyn Currie

Scotland Forum Chair
Women’s Enterprise Scotland

Committee

Andrew Duncan

Soar

Andrew Robertson

Glasgow City Council

Dr Nuran Acur

Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Eve Wallace

Morgan Stanley

Gary Gillespie

The Scottish Government

Nick Young

The Scottish Government

Pheona Matovu

Radiant and Brighter

Professor Bridgette Wessels

University of Glasgow

Professor Eugenio Proto

Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Professor John Finch

Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Professor Mark Logan

University of Glasgow

Sara Thiam

Scottish Council for Development and Industry

Uzma Khan

University of Glasgow

William Dowson

Agent for Scotland, Bank of England

Graeme Roy

Dean of External Engagement, University of Glasgow

Eleonora Vanello

Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI)

Cornilius Chikwama

Scottish Government

Insights

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