Map of Premises

The School of Economics and Management of the University of Porto (FEP) and the University of Saint Gallen (Switzerland), in collaboration with an international network of partners and academic institutions, have just launched the Elite Quality Index (EQx) 2021, an international political economy ranking that provides an insight into national elite systems and expected value creation in a post-COVID world.

Among the 151 countries analysed in this study (119 more than in the EQx 2020), Portugal appears in 28th position, below the European Union average (14th position among the 25 EU countries assessed), showing a better position than other southern and/or former Eastern bloc countries, but already surpassed by the most dynamic countries of this bloc (Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovenia).

For these results contribute "the weak external competitiveness, the high level of indebtedness, the structure of specialization in activities oriented to the domestic market and the poor institutional quality", highlight the FEP Professors and CEF.UP researchers Cláudia Ribeiro and Óscar Afonso, responsible for the study at national level.

The index is based on 107 indicators (35 more than the previous report) and on four conceptual areas - economic power, economic value, political power and political value - categorising elites into "very high quality" (position from 1 to 10), "high quality elites" (position from 11 to 25), "quality elites" (position from 26 to 75), "middle quality elites" (position from 76 to 124) and "lagging elites" (position higher than 125).

The classification obtained by Portugal as "quality elites" reveals significant disparities at the level of the four sub-indices, with the best performance at the level of economic power (8th position) and the worst at the level of economic value (54th position). Political power (19th position) and the respective value (30th position) are in intermediate positions.

"These results are in line with what is expected as it is a small economy open to the exterior and subject to the observation of some Foreign Direct Investment. The number of large companies is, however, very small, contributing to the fact that economic power is not very concentrated. The enormous weight of public debt in the GDP should also be highlighted, which represents a strong extraction of value from future generations of taxpayers", highlight the FEP Professors.

In political terms, they emphasize the significant regional disparities, namely the "low quality of public services, the poor access to the Internet, the weak promotion of equity in general and the degree of fatality associated with Covid".

"Portugal reveals a trajectory of loss, especially in the framework of the EU, and the position manifested in certain indicators - in particular territorial inequality, the weight of public debt, low productivity and youth unemployment - which together reveal a framework of institutions that needs significant improvement," highlight Cláudia Ribeiro and Óscar Afonso.

Singapore is in first place in the general ranking, affirming itself as the city-state whose entrepreneurial elites create the most value in the world, followed by Switzerland (2nd) and the United Kingdom (3rd). In turn, the USA maintains its position (5th) and Germany falls from 3rd place in 2020 to 15th in 2021. Israel, meanwhile, made the biggest gains in EQx2021, moving up the global rankings to 7th place.

"A key dimension in actuality is the performance of elites in relation to managing the pandemic of COVID-19. In EQx2021 it is found that higher quality elites such as Singapore (1st), Switzerland (2nd), Israel (7th), Norway (8th) or New Zealand (13th) have been better able to protect their country from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19," FEP Professors highlight.

China (26th) stands out with an EQx score as high as that of advanced nations, accompanied by per capita wealth three times higher. "In the post-COVID period, value creation by its elites will drive growth in China and the world for at least a decade, if not more," conclude the FEP Professors.

The comparative country scores and global rankings provide insight into the future of societies, and the EQx is designed to act as a resource for business and political leaders to understand how their actions affect society at large.

The Index is available here and can be followed on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.