Glossary

Leading indicators are simple or composite indicators that can anticipate the short-term dynamics of the economy, or of a given sector, before it is observable in more general statistics such as GDP or GVA. They are particularly useful as they allow to anticipate, in some cases, turning points in the economic cycle or periods of recession, before the official GDP statistics are published. Examples of leading indicators include the OECD Composite Leading Indicator.

Liquidity is a short-term concept relating to the government's ability to maintain access to financial markets, ensuring financing that allows contracted debt repayments (capital and interest) to be made and that covers any additional needs arising from the economic cycle.

Local Authorities are territorial legal persons with representative bodies that aim to pursue the own, common and specific interests of their respective populations. The civil parishes and municipalities are the Local Authorities in Portugal, with the Parish Council and the City Council being their respective executive bodies and the Parish Assembly and the Municipal Assembly the respective deliberative bodies. The Constitution also provides for the existence of a third category of local authority – administrative regions – but which has not been created to date.

Local authorities’ associations are public associations designed to jointly fulfil the duties of their constituent local authorities. They include intermunicipal entities (metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities) and associations of parishes and municipalities with specific purposes.

The Local Economy Support Program consisted of the program defined by Law No. 43/2012, of August 28, with the aim of regularizing the payment of municipal arrears.

The Local Government subsector comprises all types of public administration entities whose executive competence and tax authority only concerns a part of the economic territory, defined by administrative and political objectives. It includes, namely, the local administration bodies at the level of Municipalities and Parishes throughout the national territory.