Why Is The Netherlands Doing So Badly - FT Alphaville

3/13/2017 Why is the Netherlands doing so badly?
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Why is the Netherlands doing so badly?
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JUNE 16, 2016 9:29 PM

By: Matthew C Klein
Its been eight lean years (http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_

DS-463725_QID_DC49173_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;UNIT,L,Z,0;S_
ADJ,L,Z,1;NA_ITEM,L,Z,2;INDICATORS,C,Z,3;&zSelection=DS-463725NA_ITEM,B1GQ;D
S-463725INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-463725UNIT,CLV_I10_HAB;DS-463725S_ADJ,NS
A;&rankName1=UNIT_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=NA-IT
EM_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=S-ADJ_1_2_-1_2&rankName5=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName6=GE
O_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&f
ootnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN
&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23) for residents of the euro area:
Some might blame the weak growth figures on the failure of many European governments,
particularly France and Italy, to sufficiently embrace reform, whatever that means. (Weve also
been told Greek governance leaves something to be desired, especially by people who think the
debate over the true size of the debt misses the point.)
While we happily admit better institutions can make countries richer and improve their resilience
to the vicissitudes of the business cycle, this explanation fails to convince.
https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/06/16/2166258/why-is-the-netherlands-doing-so-badly/ 1/19
3/13/2017 Why is the Netherlands doing so badly? | FT Alphaville
Consider the Netherlands.
By any Teutonic measure of competitiveness, the Netherlands is a standout performer. It has

the biggest current account surplus (https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/
weorept.aspx?pr.x=32&pr.y=0&sy=2000&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1
&c=122%2C941%2C124%2C946%2C423%2C137%2C939%2C181%2C172%2C138%2C13
2%2C182%2C134%2C936%2C174%2C961%2C178%2C184%2C136&s=BCA_NGDPD&grp=
0&a=), as a share of output, in the entire euro area, making Germany look almost Anglo-Saxon
by comparison. The Netherlands is ranked the 5th most competitive economy in the world (htt
p://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016/economies/#indexId=GCI&ec
onomy=NLD) according to the World Economic Forum (the same folks who have that event in
Davos), effectively tied with Germany. By comparison, France is ranked 22nd, Spain is 33rd,
Portugal is ranked 38th, and Italy is ranked 43rd.
Yet the employment rate for Dutch 25-54-year-olds (http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.

do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-053314_QID_-5919126E_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;
GEO,L,Y,0;UNIT,L,Z,0;SEX,L,Z,1;INDIC_EM,L,Z,2;AGE,L,Z,3;S_ADJ,L,Z,4;INDICATORS,
C,Z,5;&zSelection=DS-053314INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-053314S_ADJ,SA;DS-053314I
NDIC_EM,EMP_LFS;DS-053314AGE,Y25-54;DS-053314SEX,T;DS-053314UNIT,PC_POP;&
rankName1=UNIT_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=AGE_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=INDICATORS_1_2_-
1_2&rankName4=SEX_1_2_-1_2&rankName5=INDIC-EM_1_2_-1_2&rankName6=S-ADJ_1_
2_-1_2&rankName7=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName8=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rS
tp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&
time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%2
3.%23%23%23), a reasonable measure of the economys underlying vigour, is still about 5
percentage points below the pre-crisis peak. Thats basically the same situation as in Italy (note
the different y-axes, which we used because the starting levels are different):
The chart below compares changes, in percentage points, in the share of people aged 25-54 with
a job in the Netherlands against the changes in euro area countries that at one point or another
were considered to be in the periphery:
From this perspective, the Netherlands has done about the same as Italy, a bit worse than Spain,
and quite a bit better than Greece. (Note the numbers for Ireland (http://next.ft.com/content/a1f53
ac2-0997-11e2-a5a9-00144feabdc0), and to a lesser extent, Portugal (http://next.ft.com/content/6
57b9066-2df5-11e5-91ac-a5e17d9b4cff) and Spain (http://next.ft.com/content/f7bdd5ce-995e-11
e3-91cd-00144feab7de), may be slightly misleading because of mass emigration.)
Real household consumption per person (http://next.ft.com/content/35905817-573d-3aa6-8ebd-1

3b494e799dc) is probably the single best proxy of living standards. The Dutch are still
consuming about 5 per cent less, on average, than they were almost a decade ago. Thats slightly
better than Italy but significantly worse than France and Portugal:
What can explain this? If the problem cant be blamed on an uncompetitive economy suddenly
forced to reckon with a reversal of capital flows, something else has to be to blame.
An interesting comparison, which weve looked at before, is Belgium (http://next.ft.com/content/

f60117b0-2dbb-3c84-a1df-f982c07ba97b). Unlike the Netherlands, but very much like an
unhealthy combination of Greece, Italy, and Spain, Belgium entered the crisis with high
government indebtedness, ultra-expensive labour costs, a worsening external position, a massive
increase in house prices, and a dysfunctional political system. During the crisis, Belgian
sovereign spreads widened sharply. Yet Belgium escaped unscathed (http://appsso.eurostat.ec.eur
opa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-463725_QID_15F2E5BC_UID_-3F171EB0&lay
out=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;UNIT,L,Z,0;S_ADJ,L,Z,1;NA_ITEM,L,Z,2;INDICATORS,C,Z,3;
&zSelection=DS-463725NA_ITEM,P31_S14;DS-463725INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-46372
5UNIT,CLV_I10_HAB;DS-463725S_ADJ,NSA;&rankName1=UNIT_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=I
NDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=NA-ITEM_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=S-ADJ_1_2_-1_2&ra
nkName5=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName6=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=
&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode
=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%2
3), while the Netherlands has suffered:
Wed identified several reasons Belgium did so much better than the other members of the
periphery in our earlier post. Some tight economic integration with the German export
machine and a massive net foreign asset position also apply to the Netherlands, so they cant
be sufficient to explain the disappointing Dutch data.
That leaves two other potential differences.
Belgium had somewhat looser fiscal policy than its neighbours, thanks in part to the absence of
an elected government with the legitimacy to do anything. Excluding interest payments,
Belgiums budget deficit has only shrunk by about 1.5 percentage points of GDP (https://www.im
f.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=25&pr.y=3&sy=2006&ey=2016
&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=124%2C138&s=GGSB_NPGDP%2CGGXON
LB_NGDP&grp=0&a=) since the peak in 2009, whilst the Dutch government balance has
tightened about 3.5 percentage points. The Netherlands probably would have benefited from
looser policy (http://next.ft.com/content/e0cef102-0040-11e3-9c40-00144feab7de) but this
difference alone seems too small to explain the massive difference in performance.
Then theres the housing market. Both countries experienced large increases in house prices (htt
p://www.bis.org/statistics/pp_detailed.htm) before 2008, but only the Netherlands experienced a
sustained bust:
From the peak in mid-2008 until the trough at the end of 2013, Dutch house prices fell by 21 per
cent. Theyve been recovering slowly since then, along with employment, but are still about 15
per cent below peak. By contrast, Belgian house prices continue to breach new highs.
As we discussed in our post on Belgium, its boom occurred from a low base and wasnt fueled by
excessive borrowing. Unusually, Belgian loan-to-value ratios were falling even as prices soared,
while household debt remained tiny relative to income.
The Dutch, however, are the most indebted households in the euro area, in part because of tax
benefits for leverage. Residential mortgage debt outstanding was worth twice the total disposable
income earned by households (http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=82594
ENG&D1=32,36,39,41,46-47&D2=4-7,9-12,14-17,19-22,24-27,29-32,34-37,39-42,44-47,49-52,
54-57,59-62,64-67,69-72,74-88&LA=EN&HDR=G1&STB=T&VW=T) at the end of 2015.
Fittingly for a country where much of the population lives below sea level, about 30 per cent of
Dutch homeowners have negative equity (http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2016/cr2016_ne
therlands_en.pdf).
Past profligacy made the Dutch economy highly vulnerable to a reversal of fortune. Making
matters worse, the Dutch legal system provides limited options for debt restructuring. (Thats a
big difference from Americas system.) From box 2.4.1. of the latest European Commission
report on the countrys macroeconomic imbalances (http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2016/
cr2016_netherlands_en.pdf), emphasis ours:
According to Statistics Netherlands, 1.5 million households held negative housing equity in
2014. Despite this still high number, the consumer insolvency procedure is not so attractive
for holders of negative housing equity, because debt discharge may not be grantedAn
important feature of the consumer insolvency procedure is that the outcome of a debt
restructuring or bankruptcy does not necessarily entail a debt discharge. The Wsnp
[acronym for Dutch name of bankruptcy law] establishes an elaborate settlement procedure.
Applications are only admissible if previous out-of-court negotiations have failed.
When Wsnp debt restructuring is launched, a period of good conduct is imposed,
generally three years, but possibly up to five years. During this period the debtor has to
work and is granted an income comparable to the minimum wage by the rescheduling
administrator. Other earnings and any income from foreclosed property flow into debt
repayment. The administrator directly receives and checks all of the debtors mail during
the first 13 months of the period of good conduct.
This draconian regime encourages Dutch households to slash consumption and prioritise debt
repayment, a prescription that may sound familiar in the context of the euro crisis. In the Dutch
case, the household savings rate (http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=825
94ENG&D1=32,36,39,41,46-47&D2=4-7,9-12,14-17,19-22,24-27,29-32,34-37,39-42,44-47,49-5
2,54-57,59-62,64-67,69-72,74-88&LA=EN&HDR=G1&STB=T&VW=T) rocketed up from
around 5-6 per cent of disposable income to about 9 per cent:
So what does all this tell us?
The Dutch economy began to recover around the end of 2013. Employment started picking up,
house prices bottomed, and even real household consumption began to show signs of life. The
same patterns can be seen in the Italian data. The question is why. Whatever the explanation, it
likely tells us much more about the euro areas weakness than any diatribe about the need for
structural reforms.
Related links:
Dutch macroeconomic scoreboard (http://www.dnb.nl/en/statistics/statistics-dnb/key-statistics-du
tch-economy/macroeconomic-scoreboard/index.jsp) De Nederlandsche Bank
Deflating housing bubble at heart of Netherlands economic blues (http://next.ft.com/content/b0b
c12ce-05b3-11e3-8ed5-00144feab7de) Financial Times
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Musso Jul 7, 2016
A good article who tells why levelsof households' debt shall be looked at always very carefully.
Report Share Recommend Reply
Ewald Engelen Jun 18, 2016
Lots of cognitive dissonance from Dutch commentators here: point of the piece is that pensions as well as
mortgage savings are illiquid, and since loans are full recourse, negative equity as a result of a collapsing real
estate bubble forces households to cut consumption to bring down their nominal mortgage debt. Add 52 bn in
mistimed and miscomposed (almost half consisted of tax increases) and you have the perfect recipe of a
prolonged balance sheet recession.
fazil.es Jun 18, 2016
@Ewald Engelen not only Dutch people commenting here :-). Of course it is true that pensions saving
are illiquid, would you recommend not to save instead? There might be room for improvement, but It
seems to me that with their xed rate mortgages and pension saving the Dutch might be quite secured,
although it could have a negative impact in the short-term. What will happen in Spain for example when
rates go up with variable mortgage rates and no pension saving? You might see a short-term benet
now on spending, but what will happen long-term? Very keen on getting to know your view thanks in
advance.
Ewald Engelen Jun 20, 2016
@fazil.es 20 percent of Dutch mortgage loans have variable interest rates, a further 35 percent have
xed rates of 1-5 years, a further 40 percent have xed rates of 5 to 10 years, and only 5 percent have
xed rates of more than 10 years. Plenty of accidents waiting to happen. Was not suggesting that
saving for pensions was not a good idea, although it does mean that Dutch households run double risks
when nancial crises occur. On the liability side they (or their banks) may have trouble renancing their
mortgage loans, and the asset side they may be confronted with asset depreciation, again depressing
domestic consumption.
We think this article takes an array of items out of context, as was nicely explained by@Gesytwenssen@Frisian
@ukrainewatcher
Iwouldlike to add the very large pensionssavings in theNetherlands(twice the GDP). In countries that
do not save that much thios money ows directly in theeconomy. We should not forget neither that as
opposed to many other countries (e.g. Spain) in theNetherlandsmortgagestypicallyhave along-term
xedinterest 10-20 even up to 30 years. So if rates drop in Spain that has a direct positive impact on disposable
income of homeowners.
I am a bit afraid of the effect when rates rise (hopefully they will at some point or we are the next Japan). As an
analogy, on avg probably cheaper to drive without car insurance, however if you have an accident you will be
suffering nancially the rest of your life. If rates go up we have a car accident impacting millions of homeowners
with variable rates. Please tell me who is better of long-term xed rates and pension saving, or variable and no
savings.
As someone who has lived all around Europe including the Netherlands I can attest that we probably should look
them and the Nordic countries as examples instead of looking at incomplete analysis why they might do badly (of
course there is room for improvement there as well).
If we would like a future as one collaborative EU we should focus less on transferring funds north to south, instead
on focus on collaborative knowledge transfer projects. We laid this out on an article on our blog: "Pesetas? The
united states of Europe the roadmap: the USE are far away. Will we ever get there?" If interested please read (just
google the title) and let us know what you think.
Report Share 1 Recommend Reply
Apologies did not mean to write so much text in bold.
Egmont Jun 18, 2016
@fazil.es About mortgage rates the situation is as follows now.
10 years ago rates dropped to 3,5% and many home owners xed the rate for 10 years. So around this
time the rate is renewed.
The options are multiple: x at say 2,2% for another 10 years, put on variable and wait till the rates drop
further (which they will) and x long term then or x for 1 year at 1,5-1,7% and then for a long term rate
next year.
Others who are still in a xed rate period paid a ne to get the freedom to chose a lower rate etc.
The bottom line is that the vast majority will be able to x the rate at an ultra low gure once the rates
start rising again (or they have already done so at the low rates). The result is that for the bulk of the
home owners the low rates will be with us for the next 20-30 years.
The effects on disposable income are important as you can imagine. At the same time housing values
rise considerably.
New home owners can get a 100% mortgage if their income allows it. Mortgages up to a quarter million
euro are guaranteed by the state. This guarantee also kicks in when there is a nancial problem
because of divorce f.i. This is all very different from Germany f.i. where one needs to bring in one's own
home equity.
Finally the interest payed is deductible.
@Gesytwenssenthank you for your reply, I did understand this. Apologies if I did not write it down
clearly. My point was that in the Netherlands we see the impact of the low rates on disposable income
much later due long-term xed rates. In other countries (used in the article as comparison) almost all
people have variable rates so direct impact of low rates. As a conclusion, xed rates together with large
savings locked up in pension will have a short-term drag on the economy, but long-term you might be
better of.
Egmont Jun 17, 2016
Mortgage debt roughly equals savings in savings accounts. This phenomenon is tax induced because of the
deductibility of mortgage interest from taxable income.
That is a huge incentive to maximize the mortgage and we have been doing that for 40 years (in my case at
least).
Taken as a whole homeowners could in theory repay their mortgages and have their homes mortgage free.
Exceptional situation, but there it is.
Egmont Jun 17, 2016
This is confused thinking. Measuring consumption by what is spent in money is questionable.
The whole point of the EU is to make the internal market more competitive. The objective is to benet consumers
by lowering prices in acompetitiveenvironment.
Judging by the graph it works well and that conrms my personal impression that life has become cheaper.
Telecom charges are an obvious example but there are many more day to day expenses that came down
drastically.Furthermore interest rates have come down so much that f.i. my mortgage interest is one third of
what it was not so long ago.
It doesnt mean we consume less, we pay less. We don't spend that windfall, we save it. It is in our genes.
What's more: being probably the wealthiest nation together with theNorwegiansthere is less incentive to spend
even more than we already do.
The Dutch work on average not more tha 3,5 days per week. That tells you something about the
work/leisure(im)balance wefavor.
Belgium is a different culture, veryBurgundian, they are aeunt too and spend far more of it than the Protestant
culture in Holland (that frowns on excessive consumption).
Frisian Jun 17, 2016
This is adecentcollection of facts and graps followed by a very disappointing nal paragraph. It's almost as if the
writer is looking for a negative conclusion about Eurozone economic strength but can't quite nd it. So here is a
summary with a logical conclusion.
1) The Netherlands happily borrowed at 100% LTV or more to buy their homes pre-crisis. They did not repay their
mortgages but saved in endowment type structures for tax reasons. This is a market feature that causes much
confusion about the actual size of mortgage debt in the Netherlands.
2) The crisis caused house prices to fall and the government to change affordability calculations for mortgages,
as well as lower the tax advantages for interest only mortgages. The result was that the housing market seized up
- borrowers could get anew mortgage deal from their existing lenders (who are legally obliged to offer new deals),
at similar or lower xed rates than before because market rates had fallen, but they could not typically get a new
mortgage from another lender because the new rules would apply.
3) The government acknowledged the issues these STRUCTURAL REFORMS had caused and put in place a
number of temporary tax incentives for people to pay down their mortgages, which they started doing.
4) housing market bottomed out, LTVs came down further as people paid down mortgages and the market
started recovering. In Amsterdam, the effect was strong, a 20% rise in house prices over 2015.
So the Dutch people, who have a general propensity to save anyway, swapped consumption for savings for 5
years after the crisis. The effects can be seen in at consumption. This has now run its course. Transaction
numbers in the housing market are nearly back to pre-crisis level;s. Consumption will rise faster in the coming
years.
Parallel to this, the number of ex workers and self-employed people in the Netherlands has skyrocketed in the
past 5 years, making it the country with the most exible labour market in the EU (ahead of the UK).
Now for the nal paragraph as it should have been,
So what does all of this tell us? The Netherlands has gone through a country-specic adjustment process that
leaves it well placed to show faster growth in consumption in the coming years. It is an example of how targeted
adjustments can have a signicant impact on potential economic growth. Other EU countries can take heart from
this, if they can nd the right adjustments for their country.
Pharma Jun 17, 2016
@Frisian Interesting perspective. I'm curious about the annuity element of Dutch mortgages. We tried
that in the UK (endowments), and it didn't end well when the nal returns were below forcasts.
With negative bond yields and volatile stock markets, are the returns on these policies keeping up with
requirements for end-of-term repayment?
A. M. Jun 17, 2016
@Frisian Somewhat off-topic, but does the rise in ex-work / self-employment affect housing
affordability and/or the ability to service current mortgages?
@Pharma@Frisian the endowment plans used to be around 50% investment plans and 50% savings,
typically with some safety valve in the loan itself in case investment returns disppointed. for example,
principal repayment could be extended. all very sensible, although I did see cases where the mortgage
could remain outstanding until the age of 105... after which it would be cancelled.
These days, the vehicles are mostly savings focused. You can get a 20y xed rate deal paying 3% if your
LTV is low enough, and any new mortgage has to be annuity style. Renacing existing mortgates still
allows you to use the endowment structure, but as the tax benet is reduced over time anyway the
incentive to repay is stronger - as you say that produces a highe return than most savings options.

5 replies
A Smith Jun 17, 2016
"Residential mortgage debt outstanding wasworth twice the total disposable income earned by
householdsat the end of 2015"
Matt, I used this data set once and was roundly criticised by a Dutch person who said that the residential
mortgage debt outstanding gure doesn't take account of the portion of the mortgage that has been paid down.
ie actual outstanding is far less. I tried to research this but didn't get very far although I'm led to believe it has
something to do with the nature of Dutch mortgage contracts.
@A Smith the reason is that mortgage interest was tax deductible, so everyone took out interest only
mortgages with a (tax ecient) endowment savings product on the side. tax deductibility is now on the
amortising principal of a ctitious annuity mortgage, so this benet is getting reduced slowly.
A Smith Jun 17, 2016
@Frisian@A Smith Thank you for the explanation.
ukrainewatcher Jun 17, 2016
My pet theory is that in the richest countries in the world we more or less hit limit of economic GDP per capita
from which it is very hard to grow from without pumping a credit bubble. I moved to Copenhagen last year, and
they complain that their economy is sluggish, but Denmark is crazily rich and ecient already.
divisia1 Jun 17, 2016
Well if you are an economy that is very open and depends heavily on growth prospects in the neighbouring
countries, and those countries as a group barely grow in eight years, it isn't too surprising if you also grow slowly.
Scourge of the Economists Jun 17, 2016
Debt is meant to be repaid. That is why one should be wary of creating it.
SMan Jun 17, 2016
An important issue missed is the state of the banking system. Heard of any belgiAn banks in trouble?
A. M. Jun 17, 2016
@SMan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortis_(nance) ?
(thought it's a Dutch-Belgian affair, to be honest)
ohneeigenschaften Jun 17, 2016
@SMan
Dexia
Bootvis Jun 17, 2016
@SMan Optima
Egmont Jun 17, 2016
I don't even know where to start to correct all the mistakes and erroneous conclusions in this article.
UK Taxpayer Jun 17, 2016
@Gesytwenssen Try us?

Egmont Jun 17, 2016
@UK Taxpayer@Gesytwenssen you have been reported for offensive language
Paul Murphy FT Jun 17, 2016
@UK Taxpayer@Gesytwenssen Please. If you are abusive towards either the author or other
commenters you will be banned from these pixels. No further warnings. Murphy/Alphaville
stimpy25 Jun 16, 2016
On a side note: the dutch housing market is showing signs of getting overheated. Offer a house for sale in one of
the four big cities, and it is gone in a matter of days.
ukrainewatcher Jun 17, 2016
@stimpy25 It was overheated since 2014. Before I moved back to London, I tried to buy a house and it
was mad - like London style 5 wide-eyed people for rst viewing and offer on spot mad. so I am
surprised it didn't really feed into the prices.
But Amsterdam lovely to live in.
Obruni Jun 16, 2016
So you're saying that the Dutch economy is...clogged?
MML Jun 16, 2016
Surely a "structural reform" of the bankruptcy law prior to (or during) the crisis might have helped?
Regardless, if you're interested in the various cases of the ongoing European lost decade(s), take a look at
Finland. I believe only Greece has done worse since 2008.
Smurf in Kent Jun 17, 2016
@MML Would have done OK-ish without the Nokia meltdown, so not sure Finland is a good example for
anything.
Fhui1975 Jun 21, 2016
@Smurf in Kent@MML
Isn't overreliance on a single sector or a very small set of sectors/employers a common theme in the
Finnish, Irish, Greek and Portugese economies?

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3/13/2017 Why is the Netherlands doing so badly?

Davos Eurozone economy Euro

JUNE 16, 2016 9:29 PM

Its been eight lean years (http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_

Consider the Netherlands.

By any Teutonic measure of competitiveness, the Netherlands is a standout performer. It has

Yet the employment rate for Dutch 25-54-year-olds (http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.

Real household consumption per person (http://next.ft.com/content/35905817-573d-3aa6-8ebd-1

An interesting comparison, which weve looked at before, is Belgium (http://next.ft.com/content/

That leaves two other potential differences.

So what does all this tell us?

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Musso Jul 7, 2016

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Ewald Engelen Jun 18, 2016

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fazil.es Jun 18, 2016

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Ewald Engelen Jun 20, 2016

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fazil.es Jun 18, 2016

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fazil.es Jun 18, 2016

Apologies did not mean to write so much text in bold.

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Egmont Jun 18, 2016

@fazil.es About mortgage rates the situation is as follows now.

Finally the interest payed is deductible.

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fazil.es Jun 18, 2016

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Egmont Jun 17, 2016

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Egmont Jun 17, 2016

This is confused thinking. Measuring consumption by what is spent in money is questionable.

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Frisian Jun 17, 2016

Now for the nal paragraph as it should have been,

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Pharma Jun 17, 2016

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Frisian Jun 17, 2016

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Frisian Jun 17, 2016

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A Smith Jun 17, 2016

@Frisian@A Smith Thank you for the explanation.

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Scourge of the Economists Jun 17, 2016

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