Foi aceite para publicação na revista internacional "Revista de História Industrial" o artigo com o título "Was the Portuguese Forest Policy a contribution towards economic modernization? The case of the Paper Pulp Industry during the Estado Novo (1930-1974)", da autoria de Amelia Branco, professora auxiliar do ISEG. Trata-se de um artigo sobre o papel da política florestal na expansão da indústria da pasta para papel no período do Estado Novo.
ABSTRACT
In the period following the Second World War, Portugal witnessed a take-off in modern economic
growth. The paper pulp industry was one of a group of new industries that underpinned the
process of industrial modernization.
The productive process of this industry relies on a forest-based renewable raw material: wood.
This paper aims to demonstrate that the forest policies of the (New State) contributed
to the development of the paper pulp industry through the expansion of the forested area in Portugal. It will be shown that the expansion of the forested area occupied by a fast-growing species as well as that occupied by a species already present in Portuguese forests – was fundamental for the development of the paper pulp industry. Furthermore, a change in the composition of Portuguese forests enabled the pulp industry to respond to a national and international market featuring growing demand. As such, the Portuguese forest showed a positive response to this demand for a raw material from a new sector in Portugal's industrial structure, and, in doing so, did not hinder economic growth.
