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Foreword
The Purpose of the Government I lead is to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.
Sustainable economic growth is the one central Purpose to which all else in government is directed and contributes. Our Strategic Objectives - to make Scotland wealthier and fairer; smarter; healthier; safer and stronger; and greener - are all predicated on our efforts to bring more economic success to our country.
This Government Economic Strategy sets out how we will achieve such success through an entirely fresh approach.
Scotland has real strength in the most vital factor for modern economies - the human capital offered by our greatest asset, Scotland's people. We need to build on this strength and, importantly, make more of it in broadening Scotland's comparative advantage in the global economy.
This is the focus for the Strategy: the alignment of investment in learning and skills with other key priorities; a supportive business environment; investment in infrastructure and place; effective government; and greater equity, in pursuit of greater comparative advantage. For the first time, too, this is a Strategy with challenging national targets to take us towards improved economic and population growth.
For over 30 years, Scotland has suffered because our economy has been locked into a low growth cycle. Successive economic strategies, and successive governments, have tried and failed to lift Scotland's economic performance to where it should be - and, while other small independent countries around us have flourished, Scotland has lagged behind.
A low growth economy is a concern for each and every one of us, because it will dramatically affect the way we will live in the future. It affects our job opportunities, our incomes and the aspirations of our young people.
While we believe that independence is the best guarantee of all for Scottish success over the long term, we also believe that we can achieve much more with the levers that we have.
By making better use of these levers, Scotland can rediscover much more of a competitive edge. It can become an attractive and more tax-friendly business environment, with efficient transport and communications as well as a skilled and able workforce.
This will drive up economic growth - and economic growth will, in turn, create a virtuous cycle with multiple positive effects: more opportunities for high quality employment; more successful new companies; and more of our brightest and best working in, and returning to, Scotland.
Scotland has not always been a low growth economy. One hundred years ago, Scotland was an economic giant which left the rest of the world in its shadow. Today, we have everything it takes to be a Celtic Lion economy, matching, and then overtaking, the Irish Tiger.
With this Strategy, and with the collective will of the Scottish people, there is no reason why we cannot aspire to be the best once again.
The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSPMP
The First Minister of Scotland
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