Will Portugal turn into a second Greece?

Klaus Schrader and Claus-Friedrich Laaser

No 42, Kiel Policy Briefs from Kiel Institute for the World Economy

Abstract: Current economic developments in Portugal do not portend well. The Portuguese GDP is shrinking and the growth forecast for 2012 is gloomy - in the EU only the forecast for Greece is even worse (Figure 1). Moreover, Portugal is now having to pay double-digit interest rates on its bonds, its debt ratio exceeds 100 p.c. of GDP, its unemploy-ment rate is knocking on 15 p.c., and its current account deficit continues to remain high. All of these things not only indicate that Portugal is in a serious economic crisis. They also conjure up parallels to Greece's economic plunge. Thus, it is not surprising that many expect that Portugal will turn into a second Greece. But is this expectation really well founded? We think the answer to this question is no. A careful analysis of the crisis in Portugal shows that it is different from the crisis in Greece. Portugal has a better chance of avoiding economic collapse than Greece.

Keywords: Economic crisis; Public debt; Current account balance; Balance of payments imbalance; Unemployment; Interest rates; Risk premium; Portugal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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