‘Scotland has everything to become one of the world’s richest countries’

Scotland has oil, it’s small and can adopt the same regulatory measures as Singapore or Switzerland. That’s everything it needs to eventually join the list of the richest nations of the world, Dominic Frisby, author of ‘Life After the State’, told RT.

“Scotland has the oil, it’s small, its population is less than 5 million and it has the same record. It has the opportunity to install the same regulatory and legislative [measures], to take the same options as Singapore or Switzerland. No other country in the world has the triple: the oil, regulatory issues and the fact that it is small,” Frisby told RT's Max Keiser on his show, the Keiser Report.

While writing his book “Life After the State,” Frisby researched the list of the richest nations in the world based on GDP per capita. He explains that some of the states got onto the list because of their huge oil stocks, others due to their favorable regulatory legislation, but all of them have something in common – they are relatively small in size.

“In first place it’s Qatar, in second place it’s Luxemburg, and then you have the likes of Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Hong Kong (that counts as a country on those lists), Brunei, etc. Some of these countries have got rich because of their oil. But in that case, why isn’t there Saudi Arabia on the list? Why isn’t Russia or Venezuela? Saudi Arabia is, by the way, 28th. Some of the countries have got there because of their oil, some because of the favorable legislation regulation, which means people either want to base themselves there or operate out of there, they are very tax-friendly. But these are regulatory and legislative options that are available to other countries in the world, they just haven’t been adopted,” Frisby said.

“The one thing all these countries on the list have in common is that they are small. They all have populations below 5 million, only Switzerland has above 7 million people, with the exception of the US which is at the 7th or 8th position. But in 1950-1970 the US topped that list, but as its state has grown and government has become more centralized, the US has slipped,” Frisby said.

Frisby argues that Scotland combines all the necessary characteristics to become one of the richest countries in the world. Moreover, Scotland has “a huge history in finance and banking,” he said.

Talking about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the British pound, if Scotland votes for independence in a referendum in September, Frisby said that would be “the dumbest decision that Scotland will make.”

“It will be exactly the same dynamic of Southern Europe that Greece faces. You have interest rates set in Westminster that suit London and England in the same way the interest rates set in Brussels suit Germany, and then in the process Greece or Spain have been absolutely annihilated by that. The same thing could happen to Scotland. If it is going to be independent, be independent. They have to learn to live off their tax base as well,” Frisby told Max Keiser.

Frisby said that he favors crypto-currencies such as bitcoin, stating that “technology of electronic cash is infinitely superior” and it’s pretty obvious that that’s the way money is going.

“Here is Scotland with an opportunity to be the trailblazer and be the first government to use cryptocurrency. Well, Icelanders are already doing that now,” Frisby said.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.