Portugal is listed as the poorest country in Western Europe and is also considered the least educated according to the Wall Street Journal. Portugal's plan to reduce their deficit was not approved by parliament. Their credit rating was downgraded (which makes borrowing more difficult). Portugal would be the third country after Greece and Ireland to require EU help.
Does having an unskilled workforce make this situation worse than Ireland and Greece? In order to pay off debt in the future they would need long term economic growth. For most of the 20th century Portugal was a major textile producer. Now that labor has been outsourced to Asia. In the U.S. almost 90% of adults have graduated from high school. In Portugal the number is 28%!
What are some of the issues, economically speaking, of an uneducated citizenry during the highly globalized 21st century? How can Portugal reduce their debt AND improve education?
