This paper explores, from an investment-saving perspective, the factors underlying the persistent widening of the current account surplus in the Netherlands since the early 1980s. Standard intertemporal models, even appropriately extended to incorporate specific features of the Dutch economy, do...

This paper analyzes the demand for narrow money balances in the Netherlands. Demand for narrow money balances had increased markedly in relation to GNP in the Netherlands throughout the 1980s. This phenomenon could not be explained satisfactorily with traditional Goldfeld-type money demand...

This Selected Issues paper examines the long-term issues with pension expenditures in the Netherlands. The paper highlights that the public pension for a single person is equal to 70 percent of the (statutory) minimum wage. The minimum wage and public pensions thus move in lock-step; they are...

The two newly autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands face substantial challenges. Growth has been low, and unemployment high. The current account deficit has widened to worrisome levels, increasing the vulnerability of the peg to the U.S. dollar and stimulating calls for...

This paper describes economic developments in Kingdom of the Netherlands—Aruba during the 1990s. During 1993–94, Aruba’s economic expansion continued at a brisk pace, albeit somewhat slower than the very high rates of growth attained during the late 1980s. Growth was mainly supported by...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country

This 1999 Article IV Consultation highlights that Aruba’s real GDP grew at an annual rate of some 3 percent in 1998, while inflation remained subdued at about 2 percent. Comparable rates of satisfactory growth and low inflation have characterized the island’s development since the mid-1990s,...

Important issues of the Netherlands are discussed. Openness to trade has benefited the Netherlands before the crisis and has supported the recent recovery process. However, both financial openness and trade linkages have also been a transmission channel for the financial crisis. Synchronized...

The Netherlands has been heavily affected by the global financial crisis. The “Twin Peaks” supervision model, with Netherlands Central Bank - De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as the prudential supervisor, and the Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) responsible for conduct-of-business...

In this study, the stability of the economy of the Netherlands is overviewed. Bank profitability has recovered. The housing and mortgage markets are relatively stable, although vulnerabilities to household balance sheets are rising. The results of stress tests in the context of the Financial...