Integrated accounts are a powerful tool that allow for a more in-depth knowledge of the functioning of the economies and the various interlinks between the economic agents, where the real and the financial side play distinct but complementary roles.

The main focus of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between real and financial activities in the Portuguese economy, particularly for households and non-financial corporations.

The global crisis had impacts worldwide. For a small open economy highly integrated with the euro area, understanding the way those interlinks were affected are of utmost importance for economic policy purposes. In particular, in addition to the impacts in the financial sector and the general government, it is fundamental to scrutinise how Portuguese households and businesses reacted to the turmoil and to assess whether temporary and/or structural changes have emerged. Additionally, the convergence or divergence of those agents' behaviour in comparison with residents in other euro area economies will also be presented.

For the financial account, a flow-of-funds analysis will be provided. Flow-of-funds analysis appears particularly useful for this purpose, as it provides a comprehensive and consistent set of financial information for all sectors in the economy.

Keywords: Integrated accounts; Flow of funds

Biography: Filipa Lima is Head of the Financial Accounts and Securities Statistics Division at the Statistics Department of Banco de Portugal since July 2009. She has previously been Head Methodological Developments Unit and worked as a Monetary and Financial Statistics Expert at the Statistics Department of Banco de Portugal.

She holds a PhD in Economics from Faculdade de Economia – Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

She has previously worked at the European Central Bank and the Bank for International Settlements.