The Scottish Parliament's think-tank

Our work on Economy


  • A Wellbeing Economy?

    A Wellbeing Economy?

    With Scotland facing the challenges of a climate and ecological emergency, rising inequality and an ageing population, this seminar in February 2023 explored the idea of a wellbeing economy


  • Frameworks and Forecasts: Taxation in Scotland 

    Frameworks and Forecasts: Taxation in Scotland 

    Event in November 2022 with the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee on taxation in Scotland.


  • Why Scotland needs radical tax reform

    Why Scotland needs radical tax reform

    Blog by Alison Payne of Reform Scotland on Scotland’s tax system and the report “Taxing Times: Why Scotland needs new, more and better taxes”.


  • Scotland 2030: Carbon Positive Jobs

    Scotland 2030: Carbon Positive Jobs

    Wednesday 5 February 2020, at the Scottish Parliament What jobs will there be in a net zero Scotland? With a climate emergency to respond to while new technology pushes at boundaries and disrupts our lives,…


  • Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Urban Scotland

    Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Urban Scotland

    Wednesday 26 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament Life in Scotland’s towns and cities is forecast to change significantly in the coming decades. Cities are set to continue to grow, facing the challenge of providing…


  • Scotland’s cities: retrofitting or new urban developments?

    Scotland’s cities: retrofitting or new urban developments?

    A blog by Felix Esche, a work experience student in June 2019, on the future of our cities.


  • In An Enlightened Future by Susie Maguire

    In An Enlightened Future by Susie Maguire

    A reflection by Susie Maguire on the potential effect of a citizen’s income. Written in 2019, “In An Enlightened Future” charts the dream of someone living in a world with a citizen’s income.


  • Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Rural Scotland

    Scotland 2030: A Sustainable Future for Rural Scotland

    Scotland’s sparsely-populated areas are predicted to lose a quarter of their population by 2046, with the working age population likely to shrink by 33%. At the same time, the challenge of enabling the development that…


  • Scotland 2030: A Citizen’s Income?

    Scotland 2030: A Citizen’s Income?

    Panel discussion at the Scottish Parliament in 2019 on a citizen’s income or universal basic income. How attractive – and affordable – is it as a policy?


  • Can Scotland be a world leader in wellbeing?

    Can Scotland be a world leader in wellbeing?

    Jennifer Wallace, Carnegie UK Trust, @Jen_CarnegieUK Earlier this month I attended a Scotland’s Futures Forum seminar on a wellbeing economy at the Scottish Parliament. The event, a collaboration between the Futures Forum, the Economy, Jobs…


  • Scotland 2030: A Wellbeing Economy?

    Scotland 2030: A Wellbeing Economy?

    Report of a seminar in February 2019 with the Wellbeing Economy Alliance on Scotland as a wellbeing economy.


  • A Sustainable Future for Scotland’s Public Finances

    A Sustainable Future for Scotland’s Public Finances

    On Friday 15 June 2018, the Futures Forum, the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee and the Royal Society of Edinburgh brought together a group of experts from throughout Scotland to consider the long-term sustainability…


  • Scotland 2030: Work in a Gender Equal Country

    Scotland 2030: Work in a Gender Equal Country

    Tuesday 5 June 2018 at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum’s investigation into Scotland’s culture and society in the future continued with a discussion of our working lives in 2030. Read Scotland 2030 – Work…


  • Scotland 2030: Our Economy

    Scotland 2030: Our Economy

    Having explored the challenges provided by the technological revolution and climate change in its first two events in 2017, the Futures Forum heard from Dr Jamie Coleman, chair and co-founder of Codebase, and Dr Katherine…


  • Future Schooling, Education and Learning: The Economic Context

    Future Schooling, Education and Learning: The Economic Context

    Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 5 September 2017, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate…


  • Economy, ecology, aesthetics: competing interests in the land

    Economy, ecology, aesthetics: competing interests in the land

    By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @Nell Widger   Earlier this year the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Mountaineering Scotland made an unlikely alliance in opposition to government plans to plant thousands of new trees. According to the…