Beliefs, values and attitudes of Portuguese population and their relationship with human and social capital

Studying economic values and beliefs and their relationship with attitudes and behavior has been common in most social sciences throughout the world, at least since the 1960s. However, Portugal remained very much outside this research program and, contrary to the majority of European countries or the United States, it still lacks a coherent an integrative research on economic values, beliefs and behaviors. On the other hand, the existing data (European and World Value Surveys, Eurobarometer or the Portuguese Statistics Institute) only offers a partial view of the individual’s relationship with the economic system, namely consumer confidence or general ideas of trust. The studies already developed on this subject are normally restricted to the association of economic values and beliefs with socio-demographic characteristics, failing to include both the analysis of behaviors and the impact all these variables may have on economic performance indicators. The current study is intended as a first step towards a deeper comprehension of these phenomena.