Economic development and local authorities: The Scottish case

The economic development activities of local authorities have expanded considerably over the last decade. This paper considers the range of such activities and presents an overview of the results of a survey of local authorities, taking Scotland as a case study. It discusses the differences between the institutional environment for supporting economic development, contrasting it with the rest of the UK. It then considers the reasons for involvement by the local authorities in economic development and their priorities. The results of the survey, with over 90 per cent of local authorities responding, show the range and level of economic development activities directly carried out by them to be considerable. Generally, the role of partnership with other public, private and third-sector bodies in the development and implementation of policies and initiatives was found to be significant. Finally, the level of resources devoted to economic development was substantial with expenditure of over £90 million per year.