Economists warn Scotland over keeping pound if independence goes ahead

An independent Scotland that votes to keep the pound would be forced into an unstable currency regime resembling the dollarisation seen in countries such as Panama, new research has concluded.

Economists at thinktank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) argue that if Scotland kept the pound, a formal currency union with the UK would be neither practical nor desirable because the two countries are so different in size.