This paper discusses the development of public expenditure in the Netherlands since 1850. Why did public expenditure increase from 14% GDP in 1850, nearly 20% in 1921, 30% GDP in 1950 and over 60% GDP in 1983? Dutch public expenditure has fallen to less than 50% GDP in 2003. Why did this...

Dutch Public finances have taken a severe hit. As a result of the financial crisis, government debt has increased by 20 percentage points to almost 66 percent of GDP. Without a significant improvement of the EMU balance debt will continue to rise in the coming years. The current crisis raises...

The educational attainment of the Dutch labour force is lower than in neighbouring countries. Despite this worrying picture, and the fact that financial resources devoted to education are relatively small, it is argued that increasing public expenditure is not the obvious answer. As the social...