tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3120478448417742445.post3192855040007314445..comments2024-03-24T06:35:14.281+00:00Comments on The Portuguese Economy: Puzzles....Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16779405217168307855noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3120478448417742445.post-61624800700739302842011-06-09T14:51:03.200+01:002011-06-09T14:51:03.200+01:00Pedro - just moving DG's would just save a cou...Pedro - just moving DG's would just save a couple of wages from ministers and secretaries of state, hardly a considerable saving; more interesting is to really change the way they work - to avoid, for example, citizens moving papers from one DG to the other, and make this flow internal to civil service.<br /><br />Moreover, changing DG from one ministry to another, means changing all stationery, at the least, and plates, and ....add at will<br /><br />Deleting DG and reformatting tasks to others is the way to go, but currently, can we afford the time to do it? (I keep going back to the same question, I know)Pedro Pita Barroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06815442258471690758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3120478448417742445.post-18540734565332514462011-06-09T11:19:25.148+01:002011-06-09T11:19:25.148+01:00I suppose the State can be seen (even if naively) ...I suppose the State can be seen (even if naively) as simply a set of DG's, institutes, offices, etc, grouped under a given number of ministries. In this case, is it really that difficult, from a legal perspective, to make some (marginal?) reassignments of these departments to a different set of ministries? Wouldn't one week or two be more than enough? <br /><br />I guess the really challenging aspect would be to make these departments get along together productively - but this will probably always be a work in progress, regardless of the structure. Anyway, maybe a more streamlined structure can foster cooperation, information sharing and synergies, while cutting costs?Pedro S. Martinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00862169990597091955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3120478448417742445.post-59448540692169320912011-06-09T07:56:20.966+01:002011-06-09T07:56:20.966+01:00No doubt we can have a smaller number of ministers...No doubt we can have a smaller number of ministers, my question is about whether now they will have the time to merge services, or not merging how a minister overseeing several ministries at the same time will be operational.<br /><br />I may be wrong, but merging two ministries implies a new law defining the internal organization of the ministry? which takes time to write, publish officially and apply?<br /><br />What worries me is this trade-off for the next couple of months, in which a relatively large number of measures in the MoU have to be done.Pedro Pita Barroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06815442258471690758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3120478448417742445.post-70006481603413795912011-06-08T20:09:26.998+01:002011-06-08T20:09:26.998+01:00Netherlands (16.8 Mio people, $676.9 billion (2010...Netherlands (16.8 Mio people, $676.9 billion (2010 est.) GDP PPP):<br />1 Prime-Minister<br />10 Ministers<br />1 Minister without porfolio<br />8 State secretaries<br />Parliament: 225 seats (75 Senate, 150 House of Representatives)<br /><br />Portugal (10.8 Mio people, $247 billion (2010 est.) GDP PPP :<br />1 Prime-Minister<br />16 Ministers (2 holding 2 portfolios)<br />37 State Secretaries<br />Parliament: 230 seats<br /><br />A lot of fat to be cut. I leave one question: why do we have 3 ministers for Culture, Education and Science when these areas are intrinsically connected?Paulo César Martinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01875761246516784308noreply@blogger.com