The changing environment of the RDA in Scotland and the effect that working in partnership is having both on the environment and on the organisation is the scope of this study. The main focus is to identify whether there is evidence to suggest that partnership working within economic development could in some cases not be as efficient and effective as it is expected. In particular within this research organisational and institutional economic theories are used to identify underlying variables which could measure the perceptions of the disadvantages of partnership working. Thus this approach links the advantages and disadvantages specified by authors through their widespread studies of numerous partnership arrangements, with an enhanced theoretical framework. It is noted that within economic development the organisations and respondents are involved in a large number of partnership arrangements. Analysis of the data in this study reveals that in general the attitudes toward working in partnership are positive across the three types of organisation studied (Local Enterprise Company, Local Authority and Partnership). Throughout the quantitative research similarities in characteristics, attitudes and perceptions across the organisations are evident. However anomalies occur between the qualitative and quantitative data which raises questions on the depth of the positive attitudes held on partnership working. In addition, evidence gathered in accordance with organisational theories suggests that certain pressures which lead organisations to change homogenously are apparent in the field of economic development in Scotland. Finally the partnership method of working is found to have inherent disadvantages which are implicated as adversely impacting on the role of the RDA, reducing its ability to act strategically and at 'arms length' from Government. The recommendation for further research is that the variance statistics for the indicators and for new indicators are collected on a time series basis in order to statistically measure whether the pressure towards homogeneity within the field of economic development is increasing over time.

This thesis constructs and applies multi-sectoral models that can be used by policy makers to assess potential system-wide impacts and trade-offs of policies set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategywith particular focus on analysing the skill-dimension. This thesis begins by building a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Scotland and then disaggregates this by educational characteristics of the Scottish workforce. This forms the foundation upon which subsequent modelling frameworks are developed. Next, the SAM is used to compare methods for calculating Input-Output Type II multipliers. Significant differences across these methods do not appear to be explicitly acknowledged or understood in the current literature. The potential distributional effects of exogenous demand shocks within the Scottish economy are analysed using a SAM model that contains disaggregated household accounts and two types of labour. The SAM is also used to identify the skill intensity of key structural component of the Scottish economy. The SAM is then applied to calibrate an extended version of the AMOS Computable General Equilibrium(CGE) model. This model is subsequently employed to analyse the system-wide impacts of policy relevant shocks. A variety of export demand shocks are modelled to identify the likely impacts of export orientated policies. This facilitates the separate identification of disparate labour market impacts, whilst also detailing policy relevant system-wide effects in a multi sectoral modelling framework. The skill intensity of exports, as also assessed in the SAM model, is revisited in a CGE modelling context. A key policy in the Economic Strategy is ‘to make better use of skills in the workplace’. This is interpreted as a labour augmenting efficiency improvement where fewer workers are required to produce the same level of output. Given the importance of the skill dimension alternative cases of labour-augmenting efficiency improvements are explored within the skill-disaggregated AMOS model.

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Scotland’s economic capacity to prosper independently of Britain has become a key political issue, dominating the independence referendum of 2014 and continuing to influence British politics since. Often, that debate centres on the contested terms of how we imagine or construct Scotland as an economic entity. Thus, it offers a major opportunity to study the broader issue in critical social science of how economies are “imagined”. However, to date most studies of Scotland’s economy comes from the discipline of economics or from the policy profession. This study aims to address this gap. It highlights the comparatively recent history of professional interest in the Scottish economy; asks what these professionals are “doing” or “constructing”; and looks at how this influences Scotland’s conformity with and deviance from mainstream British politics. Using Jessop’s concept of “economic imaginary”, and drawing on cultural political economy, I thus examine the current Scottish economic debate’s conditions of possibility. These include the emergence of British regional policy, the discovery of North Sea oil, discourses of competitive regions in Europe and the elective affinities between devolution and “enterprise”. I pay particular attention to a general shift in attitudes away from top-down plans to equalise growth across Britain to a focus on the “spirit” of enterprising regions. My research used critical discourse analysis to analyse 100 key documents that played important roles in or highlight key issues in Scottish economic development. I also drew on 23 in-depth semi-structured interviews with professionals and journalists. My original contribution is to examine the path-shaping role of Scotland’s economic imaginary, how choices were made and how alternative paths were closed off. By looking at one contested case, we can gain insights into broader imaginative processes in national and regional economies.