"Portugal has been lucky so far and would be sad if it stopped growing"

Surethat Portugal has been lucky so far. The country has achieved acceptable growth and has achieved it while reducing its debt. If Portugal can continue to do so, it must go ahead. I think the important thing is to maintain growth, "Olivier Blanchard told Lusa on the sidelines of the ECB's ECB forum this week in Sintra, which ended on Wednesday.

The former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told Lusa that he had written an article about Portugal two years ago in which he anticipated a more difficult scenario for Portugal. But the country's performance "has been better than expected, which is bad news for me, but good news for Portugal," he said, pointing out that "right now, it would be sad that Portugal stops growing ".

"There was a fiscal consolidation too strong to slow down the demand [interna] and stop economic growth. In this case, I was worried, "he said, adding that at this point, Portugal seemed able to continue to develop without measures to support the economy, and that "Even if it is, you should continue".

In an interview with Lusa, the French economist, currently at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, also pointed out that the main determining factor for Portugal at the moment was growth, praising the decline in unemployment.

"The good news in Portugal is the decrease in unemployment, which is very good news, but it comes in part from the fact that there has not been a sharp increase in productivity," she said. he warned.

For Olivier Blanchard, "the good news about unemployment has another aspect of the medal, namely the bad news about productivity growth," which he said was "terrible".

The Institute of Employment and Vocational Training revealed Wednesday that the number of registered unemployed rose to 305,200 in May, the lowest figure in 28 years, representing a decrease of 12.9% compared to the same period in 2018.

Asked what Portugal can do to stimulate the economy and improve the living conditions of citizens, Olivier Blanchard replied in an interview with Lusa that "there is no secret" and that "When you want to increase the wealth of what you need is growth [económico]".

"Portugal needs to think seriously about how to increase productivity, which I would say is the number one factor for the country," he said.

The sixth and last edition of the ECB Forum, chaired by Mario Draghi, took place this week in Sintra and ended Wednesday under the motto of the 20-year-old euro zone.

The event brought together central bank governors, academics, policymakers and financial market experts to exchange views on key monetary policy issues.