Economia

Economy of Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The headquarters of the Bank of Scotland[->2], located on theMound[->3] in Edinburgh[->4].
The economy of Scotland is closely linked with the rest of the United Kingdom[->5] and the wider European Economic Area[->6].Scotland[->7] has the second largest GVA per capita[->8] of countries in the United Kingdom[->9] afterEngland[->10], though it is still lower than the average of the United Kingdom as a whole. Revenue from North Sea oil[->11] and gas is not included in these figures, if it were it would reveal Scotland with a budget surplus[1] or small deficit.[2]
Scotland was one of the industrial powerhouses of Europe[->12] from the time of the Industrial Revolution[->13] onwards, being a world leader inmanufacturing[->14] industries, at the time, which today has left a legacy in the diversity of goods and services which the Scottish economy produces, from textiles[->15], whisky[->16] and shortbread[->17] to aeroengines[->18], buses[->19], computer software[->20], ships[->21],avionics[->22] and microelectronics[->23] to banking[->24], insurance[->25], fund management[->26] and other related financialservices.
In common with most other advanced industrialised economies, Scotland has seen a decline in the importance of themanufacturing[->27] industries and primary-based extractive industries. This has, however, been combined with a rise in theservice[->28] sector of the economy which is now the largest sector in Scotland, with significant rates of growth over the last decade.
The British PoundSterling[->29] is the official currency in Scotland, and the central bank of the UK is the Bank of England[->30] which retains responsibility for the monetary policy[->31] of the whole of the United Kingdom.
Contents [hide[->32]] · 1 Overview[->33]· 2 Natural resources[->34]· 3 History[->35]· 4 Agriculture and forestry[->36]o 4.1 Fishing[->37]o 4.2 Oil and gas[->38]o 4.3 Energy[->39]· 5Manufacturing[->40]o 5.1 Whisky[->41]o 5.2 Electronics[->42]o 5.3 Textiles[->43]o 5.4 Construction[->44]o 5.5 Major trading partners[->45]· 6 Services[->46]o 6.1 Banking[->47]o 6.2 Investment, Insurance and Asset Servicing[->48]o 6.3 Tourism[->49]· 7 Infrastructure[->50]· 8 The role of the public sector[->51]o 8.1 UK Government[->52]o 8.2 Scottish Government[->53] § 8.2.1 Local[->54] § 8.2.2 Education[->55] §8.2.3 Health[->56]· 9 Relationship with the UK[->57]· 10 Other economic indicators[->58]· 11 See also[->59]· 12 References[->60]· 13 External links[->61]|
[edit[->62]]Overview
After the Industrial Revolution, the Scottish[->63] economy concentrated on heavy industry, dominated by the shipbuilding[->64], coal mining[->65] and steel[->66] industries. Scottish participation in theBritishEmpire[->67] also allowed the Scottish economy to export its output throughout the world. However heavy industry declined in the latter part of the 20th century leading to a remarkable shift in the economy of Scotland towards a technology and service sector based economy. The 1980s saw an economic boom in the Silicon Glen[->68] corridor betweenGlasgow[->69] and Edinburgh[->70], with many large technologyfirms relocating to Scotland. Today the industry employs over 41,000 people. Scottish-based companies have strengths in information systems, defence, electronics, instrumentation and semi-conductors. There is also a dynamic and fast growing electronics design and development industry, based around links between the universities[->71] and indigenous companies like Wolfson[->72],[3] 4i2i[->73],[4]Linn[->74], Nallatech.[5] and Axeon[6] There is also a significant presence of global players likeNational Semiconductor[->75] and Motorola[->76]. Other major industries include banking[->77] and financial services[->78], construction[->79],[7] education[->80], entertainment[->81], biotechnology[->82], transport equipment,oil[->83] and gas[->84], whisky[->85], and tourism[->86]. The Gross Domestic...