The Scottish Government's new Economic Strategy was published on November 13, 2007.
The purpose of the strategy is to focus the Scottish Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.
Part of the strategy is to provide a supportive business environment.
Scotland's businesses are the primary driver of sustainable economic growth. Our national competitiveness depends critically on the competitiveness of our individual businesses. Scotland benefits from being home to a range of highly successful businesses across a number of economic sectors.
As well as providing employment and earnings, they form the key element of Scotland's competitive business environment - as demanding customers, effective suppliers and competitive rivals. It is this competitive business environment, for many at an international level, that can boost productivity by stimulating investment, innovation and the greater development and utilization of skills.
Increasing the size, competitive strength, productivity and ambition of Scotland's business base is a major challenge - and opportunity - which will underpin the demand for high quality skills, infrastructure and services. The challenge for government is to create the best possible environment for competitive businesses, entrepreneurship and innovation to flourish.
As a key priority for growth, a supportive business environment, through responsive and focused support and a competitive tax regime, will be central to a wealthier and fairer Scotland. Scotland should be seen as a place to do business, both at home and abroad, with key companies and sectors seen as market leaders. Through a smarter Scotland, we can fully utilise our world class universities and promote knowledge transfer and innovation. This is a critical source of future comparative advantage for Scotland. Effective and modern legal and criminal justice systems, underpinning a safer and stronger Scotland, provide an essential sound basis for conducting business and securing growth.
Read the full Economic Strategy