The new book by Professor Ricardo Ferraz, entitled Public Finances of a European Dictatorship: Portugal under the Estado Novo Regime, is now available on the website of the prestigious British publisher Routledge, part of the group Taylor & Francis.
The book has a Foreword by Professor Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and an Afterword by Professor Nuno Valerio.
This book contributes to the growing interest in economic history, especially in the role played by peripheral or smaller countries. With a rigorous and detailed approach, Ricardo Ferraz analyses the evolution of Portuguese public finances during the authoritarian Estado Novo regime (1933-1974), led mainly by António de Oliveira Salazar.
The author contextualizes the Portuguese case through international comparisons of key macroeconomic indicators and uses econometric techniques to assess the sustainability of public finances in the period under analysis, both in Portugal and in other European countries.
The book highlights the pioneering attempt at long-term economic planning in Portugal, which came to fruition with the Economic Reconstruction Act (1935-1950). It also analyses the effects of the Second World War and the so-called "collaborative neutrality", the subsequent industrialisation and internationalisation of the Portuguese economy, and the profound impacts of the Colonial War (1961-1974) on the public accounts.
Exploring primary and secondary sources relating to State revenue and expenditure, Ricardo Ferraz reveals the main challenges faced in relation to budget management and public indebtedness during a period marked by profound transformations and crises.
Public Finances of a European Dictatorship is essential reading for academics, researchers and anyone interested in the economic and financial history of Portugal and Europe in the 20th century.
The work is available on the Routledge website, in both printed and digital versions.
