Reports

Under Action 14, countries have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The minimum standard is complemented by a set of best practices. The peer review process is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the stage 1 peer review of the implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standard by Portugal.

Raising skills is critical to Portugal’s economic success and social well-being. As globalisation and digitalisation are transforming how people work, how societies function and how individuals interact, Portugal needs to equip its entire population with strong skills so that they can benefit from new opportunities. Portugal has put education and skills at the forefront of the political agenda for many years, but more than half of adults have not completed upper secondary education. With the population ageing rapidly and a growing skills divide between generations, Portugal needs to further strengthen its adult-learning system. To make change happen, Portugal will need a clear vision for the adult-learning system and a strong partnership between all stakeholders – all levels of government, education and training providers, employers, trade unions, the non-profit sector and learners. This report outlines areas where the accessibility, flexibility and quality of the adult-learning system can be improved, where governance and financing mechanisms can be strengthened, and provides examples of international and national good practice to help achieve these objectives. The report provides a series of concrete actions to help Portugal improve the adult-learning system and in turn enhance economic growth and social cohesion.

This report looks at the state of health in Portugal.

This report, commissioned by the XIX Government of Portugal, provides an evaluation of the comprehensive labour market reforms undertaken in Portugal over the period 2011-2015. It describes reforms in the areas of employment protection legislation, unemployment benefits, activation, collective bargaining, minimum wages and working time. The report reviews the reforms in detail and assesses the available evidence on the impact they have had on the labour market. The report concludes that the Portuguese labour market reforms were a move in the right direction. However, despite the progress made, many challenges remain and some of the reforms may not have gone far enough. Unemployment remains high and this situation has fuelled an increase in both poverty and long-term unemployment The labour market remains highly segmented and, in the context of very low inflation, the presence of downward nominal wage rigidity is likely to remain a barrier to the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy – unless productivity growth is strengthened.