Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney has said successive Westminster governments failed to maximise the potential of Scotland.
He made the claim during a debate on the economics of Scottish independence.
Arguing in favour of the union at The Scotsman newspaper-run conference was former UK chancellor Alistair Darling.
He had earlier told BBC Scotland that it was nonsense for an independent Scotland to keep sterling as its currency.
SNP government minister Mr Swinney told the gathering that over the past 30 years up to the financial crisis, "growth in Scotland had averaged 2.1% against 2.7% in other comparable small EU countries and the wealth we have delivered for the UK has not been shared".
He added: "Such figures are all the more frustrating as despite a period of unprecedented growth in the global economy, the previous UK government missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to deliver a real improvement in prosperity and social equality.
"Instead, growth was squandered on an unsustainable boom that benefited the few rather than the many."
He believed Scotland had the means to meet the "ambitions of the people of Scotland and would deliver a better future".
Mr Swinney said the country had;
- assets in the form of renewable energy with 10% of Europe's wave energy, 25% of its tidal energy and 25% of its offshore wind resources.
- and a "strong intellectual base" with strengths in the areas of science, engineering, technology and financial services.
But Scottish Labour MP Mr Darling, who is head of the cross-party campaign to keep the UK together, has insisted that independence comes with economic risks.
In an interview with BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Darling focused on the SNP's assertion that an independent Scotland could keep sterling currency.
He said: "What you would have with independence is two separate countries, Scotland and the rest of the UK, rather like you have Germany, Greece and Spain, for example.
"You would have a common currency and a single central bank - all this is having to be done without, so far, planning to ask the rest of the country what it thinks about it.
"But even if you got agreement to do that it means you then have to have a eurozone style system where you submit your budget for approval to make sure you are borrowing in line with everybody else. That is not independence.
"It makes absolutely no sense and the key thing is that, as we see in Europe, if you have a common currency it takes you inevitably to economic union and then political union. What is the point in leaving the UK only to come back a few years later with effectively political union again - it is just nonsense."
Former Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis, leader of the Devo Plus campaign, was due to discuss fiscal policy options for Scotland, short of independence.
The conference was also scheduled to feature speakers from academia, business, finance and the media.
'Search for facts'John Kay, visiting professor at the London School of Economics and a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, will discuss "the big economic picture" surrounding independence.
The potential future of North Sea Oil in an independent Scotland will be examined by Alex Kemp, professor of petroleum economics at the University of Aberdeen.
Institute of Directors Scotland chief executive David Watt will give a business perspective on investing in an independent Scotland, while Scottish Financial Enterprise chief executive Owen Kelly will conduct "a search for facts and evidence" on the future of financial services.
Later they will be joined by energy economist and commentator George Kerevan and author David Torrance for a panel discussion.
FOREX-Euro lifted by hopes of Fed action, outlook shaky - Reuters
* Euro recovers vs dollar as Fed meeting eyed
* Australian dollar rises to 6-week high vs dollar
* Euro zone data, news add to bearish picture
By Nia Williams
LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - The euro climbed against the dollar on Tuesday, shrugging off a weak German economic sentiment survey as speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may ease monetary policy lent support to perceived riskier currencies.
Gains looked vulnerable to the stream of negative news coming out of the euro zone, as wary investors awaited the result of Greek coalition negotiations that may lead to the country's bailout terms being renegotiated.
But in the near-term the euro could hold steady on expectations the Fed will extend its long-term bond-buying through Operation Twist by a few months from the current deadline of June after a series of disappointing U.S. data, analysts said.
The euro was last up 0.3 percent on the day at $1.2622, with support seen around $1.2536, the trendline drawn below daily lows from June 1, and the 21-day moving average at $1.2530.
"It's quite possible the euro will stay reasonably well supported and if the Fed do something we could see a temporary spike higher. Operation Twist is close to market consensus but may give the euro a bit of a short-lived boost," said Paul Robinson, head of European FX research at Barclays.
Strategists said the euro would struggle to rally beyond the one-month high of $1.2748 posted on Monday after a win for pro-bailout parties in the Greek election, given the dire economic outlook and worries about the Spanish banking system.
News that a second, more detailed audit of Spanish banks would be delayed until September fuelled bearishness towards the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, whose 10-year borrowing costs have ballooned above 7 percent.
Spain's Treasury sold 12- and 18-month debt on Tuesday at higher yields of over 5 percent and will sell between 1 billion and 2 billion euros of bonds on Thursday.
Investors were also unnerved after a German court said the government had not consulted parliament sufficiently about the configuration of Europe's permanent bailout scheme.
"The market has taken this negatively," said Gavin Friend, currency strategist at National Australia Bank, referring to the comments from the German court.
"We would like more details but the market wants to shoot first and ask questions later. This could curtail the ESM's powers and comes during nervous times when the impasse between the German view and that of the peripherals and the world is growing."
The euro fell briefly after the German ZEW survey, which showed economic sentiment posted its biggest monthly drop since 1998 in June in a sign that even the bloc's strongest economy was not immune from the crisis.
FED EASING EYED
The Fed's rate-setting committee starts its meeting on Tuesday and a few market players have speculated it could opt for a third round of quantitative easing as Europe's troubles pose a risk to growth in the world's largest economy.
Another round of monetary stimulus would weigh on the U.S. dollar and boost growth-linked currencies like the Australian dollar, traders said.
The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies was down 0.2 percent at 81.763, having struck a one-month low of 81.266 on Monday.
The dollar edged lower against the yen, easing 0.3 percent to 78.88 yen and a drop below 78.61 yen will take it to its lowest in two weeks.
The dollar's move lower came as interest rate differentials moved against it on expectations of more Fed easing. Those expectations saw the growth-related Australian dollar jump to a six-week high of $1.0147.
Against the backdrop of slowing growth the world's major economies, or G-20, were set to urge Europe to take "all necessary policy measures" to resolve its woes and U.S. President Barack Obama requested a meeting with its leaders.
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Forex: USD/CAD practically unchanged, trading at 1.0240 - NASDAQ
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - In the absence of any negative news this morning, riskier assets were traded with more confidence, the loonie being no exception. Since it's thrashing in European session yesterday afternoon, the pair has recovered nicely and is trading at opening levels, setting in the 1.0240 region presently. With a shortage of any figures or data trickling out of Canada today, investors may instead focus on the housing and building reports out of the USA at 12:30 GMT today. In more immediate relevance towards the pair, the price of crude has settled at USD $83.02, down another -0.30% after yesterdays collapse in price.
The cross is now declining by the slimmest of margins at a rate of -0.01 % and, according to the ICN.com analysts, will be safeguarded by supports at 1.0200, 1.0150, and ultimately 1.0100. On the other hand, the currency pair will encounter resistance at 1.0250, then 1.0290, and finally 1.0310
Rate alert: best-buy savings accounts - Daily Telegraph
This is an online account, and no withdrawals are permitted before the bond matures, on June 30 2014. The minimum opening is £1,000 up to a maximum balance of £250,000.
Verdict Anna Bowes of Savings Champion said that for those who can afford to lock their money away for this period of time, this is the most competitive rate. (The previous best buy was BM Savings two-year fixed rate bond at 3.75pc). But she adds that clearly the lack of access may put some savers off. For more slightly more flexible terms and only a fractionally lower rate the AA bond (below) might prove a better alternative for some.
Postal winner
The AA has also improved the terms of its two-year savings bond. It is now paying a rate of 3.7pc – slightly lower than the Nottingham BS, but still an improvement on its previous offer.
However withdrawals are allowed within the term, although savers should be aware they will be hit with a significant penalty if they do need to access their savings (180 days' loss of interest). This is a postal account, and can be opened with just a minimum of £1. The maximum deposit is £5m.
Verdict As a postal account, this will appeal to those who don't have internet access, or prefer to deal with more traditional paper statements. The lower opening balance will mean it will appeal to those who haven't got £1,000 to lock away. Ms Bowes said these fixed-year bonds should only be used by those that are confident they can lock their money away for the full term. However the most flexible terms mean that in a genuine emergency (for example redundancy) it is possible to access these fund, albeit with a hefty penalty.
Rate rise
The Co-operative bank has increased the rates on its one-, two- and three-year fixed-rate bond by up to 0.7pc. But while new customers can take advantage of these new deals, those who have already invested in previous issues won't see any rate rise.
The biggest increase is on the one-year bond, which has risen from 2.5pc to 3.21pc. The two year deal is now paying 3.5pc (previously 3pc) while those who can afford to lock their money away for three years can get a rate of 3.75pc (previously 3.31).
All these bonds can be opened either in a branch, by phone or by post. The minimum deposit is £2,000, and interest is paid on maturity, or savers can opt to get this interest paid into a separate account on a monthly basis. However, not withdrawals of capital are allowed during the term.
Verdict Although the rate rise is to be welcomed, Kevin Mountford, the head of banking at Moneysupermarket.com pointed out that these rates can be bettered on the high street. Those looking for just a one-year account can get a return of 3.45pc from United National Bank, while BM Savings is paying 4pc on its three-year fixed rate account. Both of these savings account are fully covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, although those saving with BM should remember it is part of HBOS so total deposits across the group (Halifax, Bank of Scotland, AA Financial Services, BM Savings, Intelligent Finance and Saga) should not exceed £85,000 for full protection.
However, despite the fact that these rates are market-beaters they remain fairly competitively priced, particularly for a branch-based account, and the option of getting monthly interest paid into a separate account, which can be used to subsidise a pension or day-to-day living expenses, will be appealing for many older savers.
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