By Ron Coates, 25 March 2004 14:25
NEWS The role of electronics in the new devolved Scotland has been 'seriously overestimated' according to one of the country's leading think tanks.
A report from the Fraser of Allander Institute seriously questions the importance of electronics in the Scottish economy. It says that it is "less than construction, a little greater than food and drink and, by 2000, was less significant than hotels and restaurants."
In a battle between economists over how to add up the GDP, institute director Brian Ashcroft is reported to have said that the report raised serious questions about Scottish figures.
And the argument is really about history, for the figures that the Scots are arguing about are those from the last years of the last millennium.
Scots, especially when newly devolved, jumped up and down over the idea that output at Scottish electronics factories was growing at 2.79 per cent per quarter, while the economy as a whole slogged along at .51 per cent.
And, as they stocked up on cheaper PCs, mobiles and other electronic goodies, the boffins didn't notice that prices were diving - hence the gap between Scottish perceptions and sordid reality.
As the bean-counters battle it out, there is one glimmer of good news for the Scots. This means that the general economy was doing better than anyone thought.
No mention of North Sea oil, however.
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