This paper tests the convergence hypothesis across the EU NUTS II regions between 1990 and 2001. It does that using the test of dispersion and estimating “Barro-type” regressions that relate economic growth to the initial income and other variables. It identifies the causes that can explain...

In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural...

In Portugal, as in most other European Union (EU) countries, the challenge of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has worked as a mechanism for economic stabilisation. However, the political consensus on the participation in EMU did not develop with respect to the need for implementing structural...

The increasing openness to international trade during the second half of the XXth century is an inescapable feature in the development of the Portuguese economy. Despite having been hit by several crises in its Balance of Payments over the century, Portugal did not suffer, apparently, from...

This paper examines the growth of Portuguese industry throughout the XXth century, focusing on the dynamics of its productivity, measured by the ratio of value added to labor force. The analysis consists of: (i) construction of productivity indices for the Portuguese industrial sector and...