Competing economic perspectives – primarily on whether Scotland would be better or worse off without the rest of the UK – have formed the backdrop to debates on Scotland’s constitutional future.
Since the electoral breakthrough of the Scottish National Party (SNP) during the 1960s, the dichotomy between ‘rich Scots or poor Britons’ has been a dominant theme in the argument for independence (Cameron, 2012). On the other hand, opponents of Scottish independence have emphasised the economic benefits of the Union through access to a large national market, currency stability and net benefits arising from public spending (known as fiscal transfers).