19.09.2013 - Scotland’s currency conundrum: Independence may mean decade of austerity
An independent Scotland could face a decade of fiscal tightening through tax rises and spending cuts in order to meet European debt-to-GDP rules and maintain sustainable borrowing costs, depending on how much public debt it inherits from the UK's vast pile of over £1tn. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimates that Scotland may need fiscal tightening of 5.4% in the ten years from independence to achieve the Maastricht Treaty agreed debt-to-GDP ratio of 60% under borrowing costs likely to be as much as 1.65% above current interest rates on 10-year UK gilts...............................................Full Article: Source
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