The evolution of Portuguese GNP: 1850-1910 - provisional estimates

Abstract

This article presents provisional results from a research project, the purpose of which is to elaborate retrospective series for the main national accounting aggregates. The earliest estimates of Portuguese GNP per capita, published by Paul Bairoch, are confronted in this article with new indirect estimates based either on new sources or on alternative methods, namely the main component analysis. Although the new figures for Portuguese GNP per capita here presented are slightly higher than Paul Bairoch's previous ones, they still show a moderate rate of economic growth between 1850 and 1910, as compared to other European countries.