International Competitiveness: is the reduction of wages a solution? An evaluation of the Portuguese case

"The purpose of this paper is to analyse, for the case of Portugal, the effectiveness of wage reduction - a current proposal since 2011 to help the country to reverse the high public and external debt - in promoting the efficiency and international competitiveness of the economy. A static multi...

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Main Authors: Vaz, Elsa Cristina, Fontoura, Maria Paula
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Lisbon 2013
ISEG
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19128023124919462059-international-Competitiveness-.htm
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author Vaz, Elsa Cristina
Fontoura, Maria Paula
author_facet Vaz, Elsa Cristina
Fontoura, Maria Paula
collection Library items
description "The purpose of this paper is to analyse, for the case of Portugal, the effectiveness of wage reduction - a current proposal since 2011 to help the country to reverse the high public and external debt - in promoting the efficiency and international competitiveness of the economy. A static multi-sector and single-country general equilibrium model is used and data is collected from the GTAP7 Database. The model allows the measurement of changes by sector. The simulations performed show that extending the reduction of wages already deployed by the government in the public sector to the private sector leads to a positive impact on employment (both skilled and unskilled labour), production and volume of exports in all sectors except those that are R&D intensive, the latter having a low weight in the Portuguese economy. However, it is possible that the positive results in terms of external competitiveness are not sustainable, as the impact on productivity is negative, albeit small, for most sectors. There are also reasons for concern regarding the observed deterioration of the trade balance of most sectors, the exception being the traditional labour intensive sectors, which show good prospects in this respect."
format TEXT
geographic Portugal
id 19128023124919462059_6c1fd71730a14ae992a6e03b8182f3da
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19128023124919462059_6c1fd71730a14ae992a6e03b8182f3da
is_hierarchy_title International Competitiveness: is the reduction of wages a solution? An evaluation of the Portuguese case
language English
physical 16 p.
Digital
publishDate 2013
publisher Lisbon
ISEG
spellingShingle Vaz, Elsa Cristina
Fontoura, Maria Paula
public debt
Stability Pact
wage cut
International Competitiveness: is the reduction of wages a solution? An evaluation of the Portuguese case
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=100865792804
title International Competitiveness: is the reduction of wages a solution? An evaluation of the Portuguese case
topic public debt
Stability Pact
wage cut
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19128023124919462059-international-Competitiveness-.htm