Scottish Government Bonds and Investing in Ourselves
Scottish Government Bonds and Investing in Ourselves Working Paper William Thomson (Scotonomics) and Jim Osborne (Scottish Currency Group). Download the full report On November 13th, 2025, the Scottish Government published its plans for a Bonds Programme as an alternative to borrowing from the UK Treasury National Loan Fund (NLF) to fund capital investment. Between 2026 and 2030, the Scottish Government plans to raise £1.5 billion in international capital markets through a wholesale bond issuance. Under the fiscal framework negotiated in 2023, the Scottish Government can borrow around £450 million each year, with an overall limit of no more than £3 [...]
MMT work in support of the climate movement
The scope of MMT work in support of the climate movement proves that the climate movement finds a natural economic ally in MMT Modern Monetary Theory highlights that almost all nations have more fiscal space (AKA government spending power) than they currently use. This simple observation supports the climate movement's demand for stronger government action, particularly from governments in the Global North. MMT's support for stronger climate action is both historic and broad. Below are twelve examples of the connection between MMT and the climate movement. The scope of MMT work in support of the climate movement Finding The Money [...]
Assumptions about government finances are stymying the climate response
Assuming that governments are financially constrained—rather than resource-constrained—stymies the climate response. Given the urgency with which states must mobilise to mitigate and adapt to the ecological crisis, we must develop and share a better understanding of government finances if we are to secure a prosperous future. Economist Stephanie Kelton uses the phrase ‘learned helplessness’ to describe the self-imposed, ideological constraints that governments that issue and tax in their currency, have minimal foreign currency debt, and operate a floating exchange rate, place on their spending. Nowhere is this more obvious than in state action to mitigate and adapt to our ecological [...]
Scottish Government New Bonds
By borrowing from the financial markets, the Scottish government seeks to reduce its financial obligations to the UK government. Soon, the Scottish government will issue its own bonds. As outlined in the Scottish Government announcement, it is the first step for Scotland to demonstrate to international markets that it is a stable destination for more foreign investment. I first wrote about this in 2023. You can read the post here. I covered the options that the government was ignoring, as well as the overall danger and weakness of borrowing in a currency you don’t issue. The decision to issue bonds [...]
Private sector debt in Scotland
Private sector debt in Scotland - the real ticking time bomb You can be sure of one thing. If politicians and mainstream economists are not talking about something, it must be important. We live in an era of misdirection. Ample headlines and column inches are dedicated to the national debt. Nothing is written about private sector debt. Thankfully, both Professor Richard Murphy and Professor Steve Keen have been keeping this topic bubbling over for the last while (for Steve Keen, it has pretty much been his life's work). The same can not be said of the economic mainstream. The mainstream [...]
The EU’s SGP in an independent Scotland
Adopting the EU's SGP in an independent Scotland will undermine economic resilience. Discussion paper: Undermining Economic Resilience - The Economic Impact of Adopting the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact in an Independent Scotland. Dr Dirk Ehnts and William Thomson. The paper is written with a specific period in mind: the decade after a vote for Scotland to become independent. We believe this transition period has been overlooked in Scottish government papers, including the most recent ‘A fresh start with independence’, which was published in October 2025, a month after this paper was released. The initial frameworks Scotland adopts — [...]
Scottish Currency Project. The Transition to a Scottish Currency
Over the coming months, Scotonomics will consult with monetary operations academics and finance professionals to build the knowledge base on a transition to a Scottish Currency after independence. We will also refer to and cite the extensive literature on currency creation, currency operations, transitioning to a new currency, and establishing a new currency. We are fortunate that the literature is vast. We will also consult with the Scottish Currency Group and their new initiatives of a Monetary Research Institute and the commissioning of an academic, Dr Thibault Laurentjoye, Author of “Currency Options For An Independent Wales”, to look at “Options [...]
Scotland’s exports are stuck
Food and drink exports have increased by 7% in the last decade. But look behind that figure and you see a very different story about Scotland's exports. A 'story' emerged at the end of May about Scotland's food and drink exports. The Herald picked up on the story, but I couldn’t see it anywhere else (apart from various threads, etc, on X). I assume it was a story released by the SNP. The headline was that Scotland's exports in food and drink were six times those of England per capita. Here's an image from an MSP's page on Facebook: [...]
Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker Response from Scotonomics
Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker - The underlying story of Scotland’s economy is a lack of government spending For the last four years The Understanding Scotland Economy tracker has been tracking the general public’s views on the economy. See the latest report here. Every quarter we get a feel for economic sentiment from a cross section of over 2000 Scots. I attended the releasee of the report in Edinburgh on the 27th May. The survey is wide ranging - designed to be top level for others to look into the details - and provides a good ‘vibe’ of what is going [...]
A Government Job Guarantee in a Wellbeing Economy
A Government Job Guarantee must be a central economic policy in a wellbeing economy and should be central to the next independence campaign. William Thomson's introduction to a Government Job Guarantee. Although the Job Guarantee is a macroeconomic policy designed to stabilise the economy, it has other appealing features. A job guarantee is a priority if we are to tackle the multiple crises we face today. These include inequality, the continual blight of poverty, and the ecological damage we have wrought on the earth. The job guarantee scheme embeds the government as the employer of last resort. The government [...]