Assessment and challenges of industrial policies in Portugal

This chapter provides an assessment of the industrial policies ¹ that have been adopted in Portugal since joining the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986. The aim is to understand what has been achieved and what are the existing shortfalls and their implications in terms of future challenges. The evidence shows that although industrial policies provided a wide array of measures addressing Portugal’s structural weaknesses, they have not been sufficient to push the country out of what we call the ‘stuck in the middle’ trap into which it has fallen.