Overview

Presented by Adriano Pimpão, Professor and Former Rector of the University of Algarve, and Hugo Pinto, Centre for Social Studies Researcher and Guest Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve  

Synopsis
This book is about Portugal today. Instead of the anxiety that marks the current debate or the search for a simple sentence, it proposes a detained attitude in which the various dimensions of a complex problem come together. It is based on simple ideas: an economy must be seen as a system of production and supply capable of creating wealth, of fair distribution and of meeting collective needs; the valorization of labour constitutes the most solid mechanism of social inclusion; evolution results from explicit or implicit deliberations, that is, from forms of political economy.

The structural characteristics of the Portuguese economy are traced back to the 1960s, when industrialisation without consideration to labour coerced emigration, the beginning of democracy, that for the first time created mass employment, and European integration, up to the EMU and financialization that it represents. These last characteristics hold the key to understanding the problems of our days.

About the author

José Reis holds a PhD Degree in Economics [1989] from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, with the thesis titled "Os Espaços da Indústria: a regulação económica e a mediação local numa sociedade semiperiférica". Tenure since 1998. Graduated in Economics in 1978. He was President of the Coordination Committee of the Portuguese Central Territory [1996-1999], State Secretary for Higher Education [1999-2001] and Chairperson of the Scientific Council [1992¬ 1994 and 200-2004] and Director of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra [2009-2015]. He was Visiting Fellow in universities from the United States of America, France, Italy and Brazil. Currently, he is a member of National Council on Environment and Sustainable Development [2005- ] and coordinator of the PhD Programme on Governance, Knowledge and Innovation [2005- ]