This is the first comprehensive history of the Scottish economy over the last three centuries to appear in a generation. Written by leading scholars in the field, it presents ‘state of the art’ research in an accessible style to all those interested in understanding the historical context of modern Scotland. Fresh interpretations are revealed on such key and controversial issues as the impact of the Union of 1707, the Clearances, the rise and fall of Scottish heavy industry and the recent transformation of the modern economy. The distinctive features of the Scottish economic system are stressed but these are also analysed within a British and international context. The focus of the volume is both broad and detailed with full treatment of agriculture, finance, industry and the service sector as well as the impact of momentous economic changes on the lives of the people and the massive new role in the twentieth century of the state in economic affairs. At a time of intense debate on the present and future condition of Scotland under a devolved parliament and executive, this book provides the essential background and the long-run perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the nation.

Readable, accessible and welcome…This is a good, brave and stimulating book, one for the policy-makers to digest. -- T. C. Smout

T. M. Devine is Sir William Fraser Professor Emeritus of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh. Author and editor of many books on Scottish history and related subjects, he is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 2014 he was knighted for services to the study of Scottish history and he is the only historian to have been awarded the Royal Gold Medal, Scotland's supreme academic accolade, by the HM The Queen on the recommendation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.