Thank you for this very thought-provoking (eye opening!) essay. I was aware of the exodus seeking better jobs, but unaware that the medical profession is so adversely affected as well. As a recent "immigrant" (retired 'merican) it has become much more clear just what are the consequences of this poor pay scale. It has become obvious to me that there is a huge disparity between the haves and have-nots of the longtime "native population", due to factors like the endemic hierarchical status from property and inheritance laws, as well as lack of social mobility in general. This disparity is no doubt exacerbated more and more by the influx of "foreigners and foreign money" through globalization of economies in general. This is the story of so many places in the world, and there is no easy solution without addressing the fundamental inequality of wealth distribution worldwide. (witness the Russian oligarchy that is in the forefront these days!)
Reduce ministers, reduce cars and drivers for them, reduce official visits, congressmen, etc, etc. the government spends too much and then doesn’t have enough money to pay for what is really necessary.
Nancy, thanks for writing about this. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any quick and easy fixes for this problem. I just finished reading a book called The Concise History of Portugal, and one of the many things I learned is that emigration is a long-standing pattern in Portugal for hundreds of years. For a variety of reasons, Portugal has always tended to lag behind the rest of Europe in economic development, and so there have always been a lot of people who emigrated in search of better opportunities, and this has continued to the present day. I think one important factor is probably education. Until recently, Portugal has had very low education attainment compared to the rest of Europe. Today only 55% of adults aged 25 - 64 have completed high school according to an OECD report, vs. the OECD average of 79%. According to another OECD report, Portugal currently has a high-school graduation rate of around 90%, which suggest that dramatic improvements have been made, while hopefully will benefit the Portuguese economy over time. The rise of remote work could also benefit Portugal going forward, as it could enable Portugal to capitalize on its relatively low cost of living and desirable quality of life to attract younger people who can work remotely from here and inject money into the local economy. The challenge will be to do this in a way that doesn't just make it even more unaffordable for people who were born here, and I don't know that there is any easy way to manage that. Another wild card is immigration from Brazil, which has been significantly increasing in recent years, and I suspect will continue to be high, especially as long as Bolsonaro remains in power. Although absorbing a large number of immigrants in the short run could be disruptive, the only way to keep Portuguese people from leaving for economic reasons is to improve the economy, and with a declining and aging population, I don't see a path to economic development that doesn't involve immigration. In the modern world, human capital is more important factor than ever in economic development and if Portugal can remain a liberal democracy, it could benefit by attracting well-educated people of working age from places like Brazil and the US that are becoming increasingly authoritarian and repressive.
As usual, you nailed it. And it won't take much digging to unearth the connection between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and this problem. Like other southern European countries that required significant bailouts from the IMF following the crash of 2008 (e.g. Greece) the loans came with harsh strings attached. Some link the harsher austerity requirements to inequality of voting rights with the IMF governing body itself. The end result was that prior to the crash, Portugal had been one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, and after, one of the slowest. And the brain and baby drain northward has progressed steadily ever since. A gross oversimplification, yet still incisive. https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/the-portuguese-slump-and-crash-and-the-euro-crisis/
I have a question I'd rather communicate directly, not on an open forum like this. Would you be willing to email me so that I can ask in private (substack emails only work as comments)? seal.franklin@gmail.com
Definitely a consideration for those of us with children under 18. What are the professional opportunities for them as adults in the countries that we relocate to? Will they have to leave eventually?
Absolutely. I do wonder if nursing shortages are a permanent fixture everywhere now, thanks to the pandemic...but clearly it is exacerbated in Portugal because of the salary issues. Not sustainable at all... :(
Being a younger adult myself, this is often a thought. “I love this country, but is there better opportunity elsewhere..?”. Thanks for highlighting this Nancy, let’s hope we see some shift in this matter in the near future.
Nancy even though salaries are lower for nurses in PT does the lower cost of living equalize this is some way? Except for Spain the other EU countries are higher cost of living.
While the cost of living is relatively low, professional salaries are too low. Just imagine, you can drive to Spain (just 10 minutes from our home) and make nearly twice as much!
Thank you for this very thought-provoking (eye opening!) essay. I was aware of the exodus seeking better jobs, but unaware that the medical profession is so adversely affected as well. As a recent "immigrant" (retired 'merican) it has become much more clear just what are the consequences of this poor pay scale. It has become obvious to me that there is a huge disparity between the haves and have-nots of the longtime "native population", due to factors like the endemic hierarchical status from property and inheritance laws, as well as lack of social mobility in general. This disparity is no doubt exacerbated more and more by the influx of "foreigners and foreign money" through globalization of economies in general. This is the story of so many places in the world, and there is no easy solution without addressing the fundamental inequality of wealth distribution worldwide. (witness the Russian oligarchy that is in the forefront these days!)
Reduce ministers, reduce cars and drivers for them, reduce official visits, congressmen, etc, etc. the government spends too much and then doesn’t have enough money to pay for what is really necessary.
Nancy, thanks for writing about this. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any quick and easy fixes for this problem. I just finished reading a book called The Concise History of Portugal, and one of the many things I learned is that emigration is a long-standing pattern in Portugal for hundreds of years. For a variety of reasons, Portugal has always tended to lag behind the rest of Europe in economic development, and so there have always been a lot of people who emigrated in search of better opportunities, and this has continued to the present day. I think one important factor is probably education. Until recently, Portugal has had very low education attainment compared to the rest of Europe. Today only 55% of adults aged 25 - 64 have completed high school according to an OECD report, vs. the OECD average of 79%. According to another OECD report, Portugal currently has a high-school graduation rate of around 90%, which suggest that dramatic improvements have been made, while hopefully will benefit the Portuguese economy over time. The rise of remote work could also benefit Portugal going forward, as it could enable Portugal to capitalize on its relatively low cost of living and desirable quality of life to attract younger people who can work remotely from here and inject money into the local economy. The challenge will be to do this in a way that doesn't just make it even more unaffordable for people who were born here, and I don't know that there is any easy way to manage that. Another wild card is immigration from Brazil, which has been significantly increasing in recent years, and I suspect will continue to be high, especially as long as Bolsonaro remains in power. Although absorbing a large number of immigrants in the short run could be disruptive, the only way to keep Portuguese people from leaving for economic reasons is to improve the economy, and with a declining and aging population, I don't see a path to economic development that doesn't involve immigration. In the modern world, human capital is more important factor than ever in economic development and if Portugal can remain a liberal democracy, it could benefit by attracting well-educated people of working age from places like Brazil and the US that are becoming increasingly authoritarian and repressive.
Ken, great insights and thanks for the book recommendation.
As usual, you nailed it. And it won't take much digging to unearth the connection between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and this problem. Like other southern European countries that required significant bailouts from the IMF following the crash of 2008 (e.g. Greece) the loans came with harsh strings attached. Some link the harsher austerity requirements to inequality of voting rights with the IMF governing body itself. The end result was that prior to the crash, Portugal had been one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, and after, one of the slowest. And the brain and baby drain northward has progressed steadily ever since. A gross oversimplification, yet still incisive. https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/the-portuguese-slump-and-crash-and-the-euro-crisis/
Thanks for the link!
I have a question I'd rather communicate directly, not on an open forum like this. Would you be willing to email me so that I can ask in private (substack emails only work as comments)? seal.franklin@gmail.com
Definitely a consideration for those of us with children under 18. What are the professional opportunities for them as adults in the countries that we relocate to? Will they have to leave eventually?
Good point...given our age, I tend to think about this as it relates to late in life healthcare.
Absolutely. I do wonder if nursing shortages are a permanent fixture everywhere now, thanks to the pandemic...but clearly it is exacerbated in Portugal because of the salary issues. Not sustainable at all... :(
Being a younger adult myself, this is often a thought. “I love this country, but is there better opportunity elsewhere..?”. Thanks for highlighting this Nancy, let’s hope we see some shift in this matter in the near future.
Makes since to raise professional salaries
Nancy even though salaries are lower for nurses in PT does the lower cost of living equalize this is some way? Except for Spain the other EU countries are higher cost of living.
While the cost of living is relatively low, professional salaries are too low. Just imagine, you can drive to Spain (just 10 minutes from our home) and make nearly twice as much!