This paper investigates the impact of the emergence of China and Eastern Europe as increasingly important players on the world market for a small open economy such as the Netherlands. We describe and compare in detail revealed comparative advantages across the different country groups. This...

Using detailed micro data on the entire wage distribution in the Netherlands, this paper examines trends in Dutch (real pre-tax) wage inequality between 2000 and 2008. For many years, the Netherlands has been considered an exception to the general trend of growing wage inequality that most...

Based on micro-data on individual workers for the period 2000–2005, we show that regional wage differentials in the Netherlands are small but present. A large part of these differentials can be attributed to individual characteristics of workers. Remaining effects are partially...

This paper makes use of a new dataset to investigate energy intensity developments in the Netherlands over the period 1987–2005, in comparison with 18 other OECD countries. A key feature of our analysis is that we combine this cross-country perspective with a high level of sector detail,...

In this CPB Discussion Paper, we study how regulators may improve upon the efficiency of their energy technology adoption programs by exploiting readily observable information to limit rent extraction by firms. Using panel data on 862 investment decisions in the Netherlands, we find that rent...

In Lisbon, the European Union has set itself the goal to become the most competitive economy in the world in 2010 without harming social cohesion and the environment. The motivation for introducing this target is the substantially higher GDP per capita of US citizens. The difference in income...

Reducing the emission of greenhouse gases to reduce climate change is high on the policy agenda. Discounted costs of reduction are estimated to be substantial. They depend on the employment of various flexibility mechanisms that affect these costs. One of these flexibility mechanisms is the...

Increases in inequality between low and high-skilled workers are likely to affect welfare state policies in upcoming decades. Demand for redistribution puts pressure on marginal income-tax rates and other social security measures. We come to this conclusion by confronting expected supply and...

This paper simultaneously explores trends in energy- and labour productivity for 14 OECD countries and 13 sectors over the period 1970-1997. A principal aim of this paper is to trace back macroeconomic productivity developments to developments at the level of individual sectors, in order to...

This paper provides an empirical analysis of convergence patterns for energy- and labour-productivity developments at a detailed sectoral level for 14 OECD countries, covering the period 1970-1997. Cross-country differences of energy-productivity levels are shown to be substantially larger...