Leith, 19 – 21 March 2026
Scotland’s Festival of Economics is a unique, public-facing celebration of economic thinking – designed to challenge, inform, and inspire. The festival brings together leading economists, commentators, campaigners, and curious citizens to explore BIG economic ideas.
If you believe Scotland needs BIG ideas, not just small tweaks, join us in Leith for over twenty talks across three days of future-shaping conversations.
You follow the news, and wonder why no one seems to ask the BIG questions. You want to understand how the economy really works, because it is not working for you or those you care about. You’re not an economist. You care about how decisions affect your community, your country, and your future.
You’ve marched, campaigned, and volunteered for progressive movements, and you want to understand why certain economic ideas seem entrenched. You’re ready for a festival that speaks to your values and challenges the status quo with BIG, bold, credible alternatives.
You work in policy, research, education, or activism, or just enjoy a deep dive into economic systems and theory. You’re looking for heterodox perspectives, practical insight, and space to explore ideas that go beyond mainstream economics. You know that there is an alternative. And you want to hear exactly what that looks like.
You believe that economics isn’t just a theory; it’s lived every day in our communities. You want to connect with others who care about fairness, sustainability, and collective wellbeing. You’re ready to turn ideas into action, to build networks that last beyond the festival, and to be part of a growing movement for real economic change in Scotland.
social & ppc expert
social & ppc expert
Author, “An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class”
You’ve marched, campaigned, and volunteered for progressive movements, and you want to understand why certain economic ideas seem entrenched. You’re ready for a festival that speaks to your values and challenges the status quo with BIG, bold, credible alternatives.
You work in policy, research, education, or activism, or just enjoy a deep dive into economic systems and theory. You’re looking for heterodox perspectives, practical insight, and space to explore ideas that go beyond mainstream economics. You know that there is an alternative. And you want to hear exactly what that looks like.
You believe that economics isn’t just a theory; it’s lived every day in our communities. You want to connect with others who care about fairness, sustainability, and collective wellbeing. You’re ready to turn ideas into action, to build networks that last beyond the festival, and to be part of a growing movement for real economic change in Scotland.
Many of the stories we are told about our economy are untrue. Perhaps the most harmful is the idea that austerity (2010 – 2015 saw 300,000 premature deaths related to austerity) is the only option. There is an alternative based on a real-world understanding of our economy. “What we can do, we can afford” said J.M. Keynes. We will explain how we can and must create a wellbeing economy in Scotland.
Money buys you everything: including power. Taxing those with obscene wealth reduces their ability to exercise power. It also reduces their conspicuous consumption. Economic convention is wrong. We do not need the rich to save; we need to spread wealth much more equally to provide a decent life for all. Why we must reduce all forms of inequality, including income, wealth, and power.
Our institutions are socially constructed. Those in positions of power are making all the wrong decisions about our economy. There are no ‘natural economic laws’. How we regulate energy markets, set arbitrary fiscal rules, decide on rent or food price caps, and who to exempt from tax are all political as well as economic decisions. We can and we must change those institutions.
Mainstream economic commentary can feel disconnected, technical, and repetitive. The same questions. The same myths. And the same answers. Is there really no alternative to the type of economy we have today? We think there is.
At Scotland’s Economics Festival, we create space for BIG ideas. Focused on practical thinking, grounded in real-world economics.
Our wide variety of speakers and talks go beyond the headlines to empower everyone to ask better questions. And to consider BIG economic ideas.