Echoes from the Past: Portuguese Stabilizations of the 1890S and 1920S

In the earl y decades of the contemporar y world economy, Portugal had t o perform twice d ifficult stabilization processes: during the 1890s as a consequence of the collapse of external and public debt payments, and during the 1920s in the wake of the First World War. This paper will analyse these Portuguese situations: the 189 0s stabilization based on leaving th e goldstandard monetary s ystem and on partial defaul t of the external public debt payments led to a period of economic stagnation, which lasted until the First World War, in spite of the good international ba ckground provided by the socalled belle époque; the 192 0s stabilization b ased on a very tough fiscal adjustment opened the way to an interwar perio d of slight growth , in spite o f the unfavourable international backgroun d provided by the problems of the 1920s and the Great Depression during the 1930 s (although it was not enough to sustain th e liberal republican regime, which was replaced by a militar y dictatorship, and later an authoritarian right-wing regime).