This conclusion comes from a study published by the Bank of Portugal, which also reveals differences in these indicators between foreign and Portuguese multinationals in some of the main economic sectors.

A study published in the Revista de Estudos Econômicos do Banco de Portugal (BdP), based on data from 2014 to 2022, concludes that multinationals, on average, pay average wages almost 61% higher, are around 57% more productive, using labour productivity, and 65% using revenue per worker.

Ana Cristina Soares and Tiago Serrano, authors of the study, also point out that the average wage premium for multinationals tends to be “more pronounced” in the main sectors of other services, retail and wholesale trade and construction, reaching values ​​above 65%.

In the case of the manufacturing industry and electricity, water and transport, these values ​​are less than 42%, “which suggests that workers may benefit relatively less in these sectors from the presence of multinationals”.

The productivity premium associated with multinationals is between 35 and 73% and tends to be higher in construction, while in the manufacturing industry it is one of the lowest.

Although both companies record superior performance in productivity and salaries compared to other companies, there are differences depending on the capital holding. The authors of the study indicate that Portuguese multinationals pay average wages around 48% higher than those paid by non-multinational companies and are 39% more productive. However, the premium for foreign companies reaches 68%, being 73% more productive than non-multinational companies.

“This result suggests that foreign MNCs [multinationals] may outperform Portuguese MNCs,” they consider.