CONTRIBUTION OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF PORTUGAL

The definition of sustainable development presented in the Brundtland report made by the World Commission on Environment and Development, established by the United Nations, remains one of the most frequently used definitions, stating that: "Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs." (United Nations, 1987, p. 24). As the demand for sustainable development is a priority, it is interesting to understand what factors contribute to such development. In this sense, in the light of the current knowledge economy, we try to relate the different dimensions of the knowledge economy to the different dimensions of sustainable development. This study was applied to Portugal for the period between 1997 and 2017. Data were collected from the PORDATA database (Base de dados de Portugal contemporaneo) and from the World Bank database. The study presented as dimensions of knowledge economy: human capital, innovation and information and communication technologies. And as dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental development. We selected indicators to represent each of the dimensions to be studied. And using the multivariate analysis of data, the relationship and impact between them was analysed. The analysis of the evolution of these dimensions of the knowledge economy and sustainable development is also presented, with the aim of better understand the path followed by Portugal over the last two decades, in the search for a better social, economic and environmental structure.