Auctioning Miro to Balance the Budget: A Case Study in Balancing Portugal’s Budget and Retaining Cultural Value

Abstract

This paper analyses Portugal’s 2014 national debt crisis and the proposed sale of a state-owned Miro collection in the context of three paradigms of national deficit and debt, i.e., deficit hawks, deficit doves, and functional finance. Through this analysis, the paper directly applies three prominent and influential, but widely differing views of national debt in the context of a decision that has important economic and social implications. By analyzing the proposed sale through the three paradigms of deficit and debt, the paper reveals not only the social, but also the economic cost that can be incurred with important policy decisions.a