Scotland: An economy in which people matter, at last?
When the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, unveiled the government’s new economic strategy on 3 March 2015, (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00472389.pdf) she put equality at the heart of Scottish Governments new economic strategy as one of the strategies twin pillars along with competitiveness.
She has also been vocal in challenging austerity measures that have held the UK back, not least because of the cost to economic growth that the Scottish Government reckoned amounted to £100 bn across the UK – £1,600 per head. (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/scotlands-nicola-sturgeon-inequality-cost-uk-economy-100bn-1490190). An economy that is based on low business taxes is not one that raises hopes for one that is more inclusive, so the plan to take a targeted approach on business taxes rather than introduce an across the board cut in corporation tax is a positive step.
WiSE has long argued for an economic strategy that takes better account of women’s contributions and roles, particularly in valuing the unpaid and caring roles they play. Such contributions are usually rendered marginal or invisible – and so not valued – in mainstream economic thinking.
The strategy flags up the potential of moving towards an economy in which people matter and it reflects clear evidence from around the world that competitiveness and equality are not just desirable twin goals, but ‘essential interdependent ambitions’ for Scotland. A strategy that recognises the need for economic growth that is “inclusive, innovative and fairly distributed” is a positive change. For too long, inequality has been allowed to be a destructive force in the UK that ensures a few people at the top continue to prosper at the expense of growing numbers of people who face ever greater insecurity of work and income and a rising threat of a life of poverty.
I had thought that ‘trickle down’ economics had been fully discredited in the 1980s and 1990s, but taking part in a debate on Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland (2 March 2015) to discuss the new economic strategy put me right about that! A representative from the Adam Smith Institute argued for a continued focus on growth:
“what we tend to see is first you grow very fast, become more unequal, and then you carry on growing and everybody else catches up…. Redistribution is important but it isn’t nearly as important as growth and we should always be focusing on growth.”
I argued instead that, once countries get past a level of growth, there are diminishing returns from simply focusing on growth alone and the huge differences in inequality between rich nations in the levels of inequality within them show there is a choice to be made and the UK is getting that wrong. An economic strategy for Scotland does need to ensure Scotland is competitive, but not just on the back of exploitative forms of work reinforced by a punitive social security system. For example, the increased incidence of zero hours contracts leaves too many people wondering from week to week if they and their families will be able to eat and heat their homes properly. You can listen to more of the discussion here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0543x2p – starts 1 hour 10 minutes in)
How we define and measure economic activity must start to account more adequately for the contributions of women, paid and unpaid in a more effective way. If economic statistics reflected real lives better than they do, perhaps we wouldn’t be scratching our heads about an economic recovery, as measured by GDP growth, in which so few people are feeling any benefits. The first minister flags up the need for new ways of working across sectors and says the framework:
“signals a clear direction of travel for all levels of government in Scotland. It involves a much broader approach to boosting competitiveness and tackling inequality through a full integration of our economic and social policies. We believe that a One Scotland approach is needed to deliver on our ambitions, with all public sector agencies working together – recognising that all can and should make a contribution towards that growth…”
Transforming how we measure economic progress and wellbeing will take time. We hope that this new strategy marks a new beginning in Scotland where equality is everyone’s business and ALL Scotland’s people matter in economic as well as social policies and strategies. These terms can quickly become easy slogans, so there needs to be a lot of effort made to ensure that the words in the strategy translate into actions and measurement around an economy that works for everyone and one in which women’s diverse roles are recognised and valued. The clear message that equality is everyone’s business must not be lost to ‘business as usual’.
Morag Gillespie
Senior Research Fellow
Women in Scotland’s Economy Research Centre
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