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Council of Economic Advisers
21/09/2007
Scotland's new Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), set up to advise on ways of improving the rate of sustainable economic growth, met for the first time today.
Afterwards First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"Today's first meeting of the Council of Economic Advisers has been inspiring and my belief that we have gathered some of the best minds to focus on achieving greater economic success for Scotland has been confirmed by the dynamic exchange of ideas that has taken place today.
"We have decided that a minute of all meetings of the Council of Economic Advisers will be published a fortnight after the meeting to keep everyone with an interest in improving Scotland's economic performance informed of the areas under discussion."
The CEA heard an assessment of Scotland's economic growth performance from Dr Andrew Goudie, Chief Economic Adviser to the Scottish Government. They discussed drivers of growth with the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary John Swinney, and heard from the Scottish Government's Chief Planner Jim Mackinnon.
The CEA is chaired by Sir George Mathewson and will:
- Advise the First Minister directly about the best way to improve Scotland's sustainable economic growth
- Have quarterly meetings to consider the publication of the quarterly growth figures
- Publish an annual report providing expert commentary on the Scottish economy
CEA Membership:
Sir George Mathewson (Chair)
Perhaps the most eminent Scottish businessman of his generation. His period as Chief Executive and then Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland inspired the transformation of the bank into a global success story. Sir George previously also spent 6 years as the chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency.
Frances Cairncross
Rector of Exeter College at Oxford University. Previously she worked for 20 years on 'The Economist' magazine. She chaired the Economic and Social Research Council for six years until 2007 and is a well respected author whose works include 'Costing the Earth' and 'Green, inc'.
Sir Robert Smith
Chairman of the Weir Group and Scottish and Southern Energy. He also serves as a non-executive director of 3i group, Standard Bank Group and Aegon UK. Sir Robert also chairs the Smith Group, a group of dedicated educators and business and civic leaders who are determined to offer more opportunities to young Scots.
Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett
Professor of Economics and Public Policy at George Mason University in the US and visiting Professor of Economics at the University of St Andrews. He specialises in international economic policy and has acted as a consultant for the World Bank, the IMF, the Federal Reserve Board, the UN, the OECD, the European Commission and central banks around the world.
Professor Alex Kemp
Schlumberger Professor of Petroleum Economics at the University of Aberdeen. He is a leading energy and taxation expert who has advised the World Bank, the United Nations, and individual governments around the world. In recent times, Professor Kemp has expanded his research to include the economics of renewable energy and how best to foster carbon capture.
Jim McColl
Chairman and Chief Executive of Clyde Blowers - a company transformed under his leadership into a portfolio of global engineering companies. He also serves as Chairman of the Welfare to Work Forum which has seen 15,000 Scots enter employment.
Professor Frances Ruane
Director of Ireland's Economic and Social Research Institute having been as Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College, Dublin. She is widely published in the area of international economic and industrial development.
Professor John Kay
One of Britain's leading economists. The author of several influential books, Professor Kay is a regular contributor to the Financial Times. He is a fellow of St John's College, Oxford and served as Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He has served as a Professor at the London Business School and the University of Oxford. He is currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics.
Crawford Beveridge
Executive Vice President and Chairman of Sun Microsystems in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. From 1991 to 2000, Crawford Beveridge served as Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise. He brings a wealth of international business experience.
Professor Finn Kydland
Henley Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in dynamic macroeconomics.
Professor Sir James Mirrlees
Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University and distinguished professor-at-large at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sir James was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on economic models and equations about situations where information is asymmetrical or incomplete.