An analysis of inequality and poverty in Portugal

The purpose of this report is to make a description of the income inequality and poverty in Portugal nowadays and throughout the last decades and comparing it with other European countries, in order to reach conclusions about the effectiveness of the policies that have been used to tackle these problems. Information from important working papers on the subject is used, as well as databases such as Pordata and the World Inequality Database. Historically, income inequality does not display the same path as other Western countries, staying high for most of the 20th century, falling after the establishment of democracy in 1974 and increasing from the 1980s, with globalization. In Portugal, the elderly and the young are the most exposed to poverty, as well as singleparent families and families with three or more children. In addition, Madeira and Azores are the regions that presentthe highest values of income inequality and poverty. Portugal is amongst the most unequal and poorest European countries. Concerning government intervention, direct taxes have been the policy with the highest efficacy in reducing income inequality, while social transfers are the most efficient.

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Student Authors: Carlos Oliveira, Diogo Roberto, Henrique Santos, Francisco Vale and Joana Leitão

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This content was originally published in Nova Economics Club website.

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