Professor Iain McLean in high profile debate over the cost of an independant Scotland

Iain McLean has been engaged in an online debate with Professor Patrick Dunleavy of LSE about Professor Dunleavys recent report on the possible cost of creating an independant Scottish state: Transitioning to a new Scottish state.

Iain wrote an article for the LSE blog in which said, "Patrick Dunleavy of this parish has been much in the news. His recent report contains the headline claim that ‘Scotland’s immediate set-up costs are likely to be constrained –we suggest around £200 million in one-off costs’. This was widely picked up by the press, who contrasted it with a UK government estimate of £2.7 billion, which Patrick himself had called ‘bizarrely inaccurate’ and a misinterpretation of his research." Iain then went on to argue that the number is likely to be in the area of £1.5 to £2 billion when considering the two huge set-up costs that Scotland would incur after independence in the areas of tax collection and benefits distribution.

Iain McLean's blog article can be read in full here: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/what-will-it-really-cost-to-set-up-an-independent-scotland-a-critique-of-patrick-dunleavys-report/

Patrick Dunleavy's original report can be read here - http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/files/2014/06/Transitioning-to-a-new-Scottish-state-PD-ebook.pdf - and his response to Iain can be read here: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/a-debate-about-scotlands-transition-costs-a-response-to-mcleans-critique/

This story was also reported extensively in Scottish press and broadcast media, as well as in the Daily Telegraph (26 June and 27 June), the Financial Times (26 June) and the Times (27 June). It was also mentioned at First Minister’s Questions on 26 June.