The European electricity and gas markets have been going through a process of liberalisation since the early 1990s. This process has changed the sector from a regulated structure of, predominantly, publicly owned monopolists controlling the entire supply chain, into a market where private and...

This report analyses the broadband market and asks whether a specific role of government is necessary. As broadband telecommunication is seen as a source of productivity gains, the European Union and other regions are encouraging the deployment of a secure broadband infrastructure. In the...

Since the mid eighties, re-exports in the Netherlands has been booming, with the exception of a short interruption in 2001 and 2002. This research shows that a relatively strong growth of re-exports is not just a Dutch phenomenon, but that there is an international trend going on. Re-exported...

The financial crisis is still spreading and deepening and is making inroads on the real economy. Forecasting is always "work in progress" but the exceptional situation today makes it feel like shooting at a moving target from a ship on the high seas. The forecasts of the Working Group were...

Consolidation of the tax base in the European Union is expected to curve compliance costs and reduce profit shifting. A number of proposals for consolidation from the European Commission are simulated with the applied general equilibrium model CORTAX. We show that the benefits from...

In the run-up to the Dutch general election on 22 November 2006, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) published an analysis of the economic effects of eight election platforms. The CPB conducted this analysis at the request of the political parties in question. This was the...

Public spending on child care has taken a high flight in the Netherlands. One of the key policy goals of child care subsidies is to stimulate labour participation. We study the impact of child care subsidies on labour participation using a general equilibrium model.Next to the labour supply...

Individual savings accounts are a recurring reform option for unemployment insurance. Under a system of individual accounts, individuals are forced to save part of their income into an individual account out of which benefits are paid during unemployment. Individuals are allowed to have a...

The last four decades, Dutch exports and imports grew annually about 7.5%, while re-exports rocketed in the last two decades. Using a gravity approach this paper finds that the increase in trade is largely caused by income developments. Trade policy, consisting of reductions in import tariffs...

This paper describes a labour market extension for the CGE model "WorldScan". The labour market module features endogenous labour supply at two margins: participation and hours of work. Involuntary unemployment is captured through a collective bargaining ("right to manage") set-up. The paper...