Compare facts and get to know Portugal better – Observer
Portugal’s continued decline in the classification of GDP per capita of the European Union generated lively discussions in the media and between some opposition and government parties. Some see the loss of position as a sign of the failure of the economic policies followed in recent decades, an inability to take advantage of our country’s full potential or even an embarrassment for the homeland. Others devalue the drop in that classification, looking for other more compatible comparisons. For example, the Prime Minister devalues the overtaking of Eastern European countries, choosing as his objective the approximation to the more developed economies of the EU, which showed weak growth rates.
not the fall classification of GDP per capita it is a problem and calls into question the future of Portugal. It is true that economic and social development should not be reduced to a race where ranking is measured by GDP. per capita. There are many other dimensions relevant to the well-being of populations. However, we do not devalue the importance of economic growth and we cannot avoid GDP growth comparisons. per capita with our European partners.
Firstly, it is difficult to imagine an alternative to economic growth to solve some of Portugal’s most serious problems. Child and youth poverty, the greatest injustice because no one is to blame for being born poor, remains at around 20%. In a country like ours, where social mobility is increasingly a mirage, being born into poverty is practically a possibility of living poor until the end of your life. So, is it possible to break the vicious circle of poverty without more economic growth? Also for the public and private debt and for the external debt, sustained solutions cannot be imagined without economic growth. Unfortunately, the characters in this article could be exhausted listing problems whose resolution depends on more economic growth.
Secondly, in an open economy, integrated into the EU, with free movement of goods and people, it is also very important to compare the economic growth rate with our partners. Persistent differences in economic growth rates will result in the diversion of financial and human resources towards countries with more dynamic economies. The high numbers of emigration, which for many Portuguese remain the only hope for a better future – yet another reflection of poor social mobility – are the result of fragile economic growth and the drop in classification of GDP per capita from the EU. In turn, talent flight reduces our potential for economic growth, creating the conditions for new waves of emigration. To break out of this vicious circle, it is urgent to resume a path of convergence and improve the relative position of the Portuguese economy in the EU.
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