Scotland Rebrand 'Would Generate £77B'

Rebranding Scotland's national identity could be worth an extra 77 billion pounds to the economy.

That's according to think-tank N-56, which wants the Scottish government to emulate the likes of Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore.

It says success should be measured on the Nordic council, rather than against the UK, which has a dominant financial sector.

Such an increase will however require the Scottish Government and business sector to work much closer together to develop and deliver an export-based economic growth strategy, echoing the example set by the likes of Denmark, New Zealand and Ireland.
 
The report notes that Scotland is heavily reliant on one export market, the rest of the UK, which accounts for two-thirds of trade flows, with the Scottish Government setting a target to deliver a 50% increase in the value of international exports over the ten years to 2017.
 
Evaluation carried out by Scottish Development International in 2010 found that companies that enter international markets increasing their productivity by almost 18%.
 
Policy recommendations include:
 

•  The delivering of a strong Scottish national brand to boost exports and see Scotland stand out from the crowd.
• Greater investment in key infrastructure and forging global connections.
• Continued membership of the European Union.
• The lodging of an application for Scotland to join the Nordic Council.
• Targeted tax breaks in areas where Scotland has existing strengths potential such as oil and gas and food and drink.
• The delivery of an economic strategy distinctive from that of the UK with its high reliance on the financial services sector in the City of London.
• A greater prominence for export growth in the Scottish Government’s economic growth strategy.

It also urges companies which have been successful in exporting their products share their experience with others.
 
N-56, whose aims is for Scotland to become one of the five wealthiest countries in the world, notes that Scotland is behind other advanced countries of a similar size when it comes to exports.
 
While trade accounts for a larger proportion of the Scottish economy than is the case for the UK as a whole, Scotland is under-performing when compared to small wealthy economies (18 countries with populations less than 10 million) and trade to the value of £77 billion is being missed out on.
 
Scotland’s trade volumes would need to increase by more than a third (41%) to match the average for small wealthy economies - 63% if oil and gas exports were excluded).
 
The business organisation has proposed a number of recommendations to support an export-based growth strategy:

• Export growth should be more prominent in the Scottish Government’s economic growth strategy, since it is associated with productivity growth and improved economic performance.
• Continued access to global markets is critical, with Scotland’s continued membership of the European Union providing the easiest access to markets.
• The delivery of an economic strategy distinctive from that of the UK with its high reliance on the financial services sector in the City of London.
• Building on current strengths – research and development, education and skills, with Scotland boasting world leading universities.
• Addressing perceived weaknesses in infrastructure and global connections – with the potential to address this through developing airport hub services and international freight ports, lowering the barriers to export.
• Build on global growth sectors where Scotland has existing and potential competitive advantages including oil and gas, high quality food and drink, education, tourism and the creative industries.
• Targeted tax breaks in sectors with the greatest export potential, as highlighted above.
• The potential to reach agreements for large companies to work with small and medium sized companies in export markets, as well as a role for government agencies to assist businesses to establish new distribution channels, particularly in emerging markets, should be explored
• An export-based growth strategy will require that skills gaps in sales and languages are addressed.
•  
•  A realistic and authentic national brand should be developed for Scotland, building on existing initiatives and learning from best practice elsewhere, including the likes of New Zealand and Singapore. This is an initiative that should be developed through collaboration between government, civil society and business.
• The Scottish Government should take a leadership role in internationalisation to boost key export sectors, including applying to join the Nordic Council (whose members include nation-states and devolved territories).

 
Commenting on the findings of the report Dan Macdonald, founder of N-56, said:
 
"The Scottish economy is missing out on trade worth billions of pounds when compared with other small wealthy economies and our latest report outlines a series of measures that will allow us to close this gap.
 
"Increasing foreign trade increases economic growth. We need to change our thinking and our culture, embrace the best examples of what we see elsewhere in the word and bring a global business mentality forward from which all of society can benefit. It means business working closer together with government in terms of designing and implementing policy that will energise an export based economy."
 
Graeme Blackett of economic consultancy BiGGAR Economics, which compiled the report, said:
 
“Our research shows that successful small economies tend to be those that have high levels of trade.  This is because businesses that export tend to have high levels of productivity.  
 
“A renewed focus on increasing exports should therefore be a prominent feature of the Scottish Government Economic Strategy, which is currently being reviewed.  This will allow Scotland to close the trade gap with other wealthy economies, boosting productivity and achieving their economic growth rates.  
 
“The lesson from prominent trading economies shows that initiatives such as the development of a realistic and authentic national brand can play an important role.”