14 Oct 2025

International Conference – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation | Presentation of the 2025 Intergenerational Justice Index Results

On December 4th, between 10:00 and 13:00, the Institute of Public Policy, in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, will host an international conference to present the updated Intergenerational Justice Index for Portugal.This event aims to share the new results and foster debate on public policies that promote a fairer distribution of opportunities across generations, with a special focus on the areas of environment, health, labour market, housing, public finances, and poverty and living conditions — the core dimensions of the Index’s methodology.More information coming soon.
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08 Oct 2025

Policy Paper 37 | Green jobs: the relationship between the environmental transition and the labour market in Portugal

This Policy Paper investigates the relationship between the environmental transition and the Portuguese labour market by analysing the supply and demand of green jobs. The study examines recent employment trends across five specific green occupations in Portugal using two primary data sources: registered labour supply and demand from the Employment Centres of the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, IEFP) between 2014 and 2023, and microdata from the Personnel Tables Personnel Tables collected by the Strategy and Planning Office of the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security (Gabinete de Estratégia e Planeamento do…
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25 Sep 2025

Policy Paper 36 | Lessons for Administrative Simplification: The Portuguese Simplex Programme

Since 2006, the Portuguese Simplex Programme has become one of Europe’s most notable initiatives in administraive simplification and digital transformation. Designed to cut red tape, reduce compliance costs, and improve the relationship between citizens, businesses, and the State, Simplex has served as a laboratory for public sector reform and a reference case in the international debate on better regulation. In Policy Paper 36 of the Institute of Public Policy (IPP) – “Lessons for Administrative Simplification: The Portuguese Simplex Programme” – authors Rúben Bento (IPP-Lisbon) and Steffen Hoernig (IPP-Lisbon & Nova SBE) review almost two decades of the programme. The paper…
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10 Oct 2024

Policy Brief 16 | Health Emergency Plan

The Health Emergency Plan was presented in May 2024 by the Ministry of Health. This plan is a health policy instrument aimed at tackling urgent and priority challenges in access to healthcare in Portugal. Structured around five strategic axes, the plan proposes a comprehensive set of measures that respond to the current critical needs of the healthcare system. Each strategic axis was analysed by a group of health professionals, resulting in the preparation of Policy Briefs that summarise the main recommendations and directions for action. These documents also present a critical analysis of the measures implemented and propose possible improvements…
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24 Sep 2024

Report 11 – Generative AI and Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities

Generative AI (GenAI) became a global sensation in late 2022 with the release of ChatGPT. In higher education, it quickly demonstrated its potential to enhance learning, from helping students summarize materials to assisting teachers in class preparation and grading. GenAI, powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot, can also create new content across various formats such as text, images, video, and sound. Additionally, AI technologies that analyze large datasets ("big data") are expected to play a significant role in addressing long-standing educational challenges like student dropouts and curriculum development. Despite its benefits, there is…
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30 Jul 2024

Policy Paper 35 | Intergenerational Justice in Portugal: Environment and Natural Resources

This article builds an index of intergenerational justice for Portugal, in the area of ​​environment and natural resources, taking into account data that is made available annually. Assessing intergenerational justice in the context of the environment and natural resources presents important operational challenges. The difficulty of quantifying this justice leads us to use an associated but distinct concept, which is strong sustainability, and which translates into leaving future generations with a level of “natural capital” no lower than that received by current generations.We adopt a contractually approach to intergenerational justice in which the hypothetical social contract between generations may or…
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21 May 2024

Headwinds and Tailwinds: Navigating Budgets in Turbulent Times – Launch of the Open Budget Survey 2023

The International Budget Partnership will launch its latest Open Budget Survey report – the only independent, comparative, and regular measure of budget transparency and accountability around the world – at a virtual public event. This latest survey marks our largest round ever—with 125 countries assessed. As conversations around climate financing, debt and other key issues loom large, the budget process is an essential space for governments to engage their people in critical decisions they are making around how to raise and spend public money.  Our launch presents a unique opportunity to showcase key findings from the survey and concrete paths to…
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10 May 2024

Policy Paper 34 | The Sustainable Development Goals in the budgetary process of Local Authorities

The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are relevant to local strategic development for several reasons. The 2030 Agenda offers a global action plan for sustainable development, with targets that can be localized and adapted to the specific realities of each municipality. An integration of the SDGs in strategic planning starting at the definition of strategic priorities and aligning them with the existing munic- ipality planning instruments, ensures that public resources are used efficiently and effec- tively, contributing to the achievement of the SDG targets. In the budget process, the integration of the SDGs can be done…
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09 May 2024

Policy Paper 33 | Public Sector Efficiency: exploring (some) reasons for why it’s needed

A country's performance is significantly influenced by the size and efficiency of its public sector, as well as how effectively it utilizes its often-limited resources. Evaluating the performance of the public sector and understanding the factors driving its efficiency are crucial from both economic and policy perspectives. This evaluation enables the maximization of societal welfare and the optimization of investment projects, thereby stimulating economic growth. The literature has long debated the role and size of government, particularly due to the considerable variations in government spending across countries. This debate gains even more significance in times when governments face stringent budget…
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09 May 2024

Policy Paper 32 | Tax Effort, Tax Capacity and Tax Potential in Portugal

This policy paper aims to provide and discuss empirical estimates of tax effort, tax capacity and tax potential in a comparative perspective with an emphasis on Portugal´s placement within the group of advanced economies. A careful discussion of the concepts of tax effort, tax capacity, and tax potential is particularly important as these offer valuable insights into the efficiency and sustainability of the tax system, providing a basis for informed fiscal policy decisions that can impact economic growth, fiscal stability, and social equity. Click here to read the Policy Paper 32 - Tax Effort, Tax Capacity and Tax Potential in Portugal
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