## Portugal: Selected Issues

_IMF Staff Country Reports, July 12, 2019_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Portugal: Selected Issues](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/07/11/portugal-selected-issues-47105)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/07/11/portugal-selected-issues-47105/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/07/11/portugal-selected-issues-47105/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/07/11/portugal-selected-issues-47105/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: July 12, 2019
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498325196.002

---

### Summary findings
- The paper focuses on cross-country differences in savings rates in advanced European countries, exploring demographic, fiscal and financial factors explaining why household savings are low in Portugal compared to its peers.
- Portugal’s household saving rate is lower than those of the average European country.
- Factors identified as explaining the lower household saving rate in Portugal (as suggested by a comparison against another 14 European countries conducted with the aid of panel regressions) include:
  - lower disposable income
  - lower financial net wealth
  - higher old-age dependency ratio
  - higher government spending on pensions
  - higher government spending on social protection benefits
  - higher homeownership ratio
- Other potential contributors to low household saving in Portugal include:
  - lower education levels
  - lower fertility rate
  - lower private pension coverage
- Many of these factors are not amenable to simple or direct policy interventions, though policies that promote economic growth could have positive side effects on household saving.

### Policy options and recommendations
- More specific policy options to boost household saving include:
  - measures to promote private occupational and personal plans, including some changes in taxation
  - developing incentives to work past age 65

### Scope and focus
- Subject: Aging, Expenditure, Income, Labor, National accounts, Pension spending, Pensions, Personal income, Population and demographics
- Keywords: Aging, asset allocation, CR, employee, employee age, Europe, household saving, Income, ISCR, pension schemes, Pension spending, Pensions, Personal income, Portugal, rate, saving rate, saving-investment balance, tax treatment

---

## Content in this bundle

- **Portugal: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/222; June 19, 2019**
  - [Portugal: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/222; June 19, 2019 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2019/1prtea2019002.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Portugal: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/222; June 19, 2019 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/cr/2019/1prtea2019002.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

---

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/07/11/portugal-selected-issues-47105_