understand what are the pros and cons of austerity measures, let’s consider austerity in Portugal. Portugal suffered from the combination of next three things: low growth, an aging population, and low productivity. When, in 2010, the crisis started in Greece, forcing many investors worried for the risk of holding Southern European debts, Portugal's 10-year bond interest raised from about 4% in late 2009 to a high of about 17% in early 2012 . The government budget deficits, as percentage of GDP, increased