1st Edition

The Economic History of The Netherlands 1914-1995 A Small Open Economy in the 'Long' Twentieth Century

By Jan L. van Zanden Copyright 1998
    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    Jan L. van Zanden in The Economic History of the Netherlands 1914-1995 answers these questions. In the first four chapters the long development of the economy is analysed in detail. Central to this part of the book are the rise (and decline) of managerial enterprise; the growth (and fall) of trade unions; and the expansion (and crisis) of the welfare state. The particular Dutch features of these institutional changes are highlighted. The second part of the book deals with different periods of growth (from 1914-1929, and 1950-1973), and relative stagnation (1929-1950, and 1973-1995). Moreover, van Zanden examines the role the Netherlands played in the process of European integration, and gives an explanation of the success of the 'Dutch job machine' in the 1980s and 1990s.

    Preface 1. The Long Twentieth Century 2. Characteristics of the Dutch Economy 3. The Rise of the Managerial Enterprise 4. The Politics of a Pillarized Society and the Development of the Welfare State 5. The Labour Market 6. The Best of Both Worlds: Catching Up 1914-1929 7. The Long Stagnation 1929-1949 8. The Golden Years 1950-1973 9. 1973-1995: Falling Behind Again? Bibliography

    Biography

    Jan L. van Zanden is Professor of Economic History at the University of Utrecht, and Director of the Netherlands Research School for Economics and Social History (N.W. Posthumus Institute). His previous publications include The Rise and Decline of Holland's Economy 1350-1850 (1993), and The Transformation of European Agriculture in the 19th Century: The Case of the Netherlands (1004).

    'No other work of this kind is available...Van Zanden has given us a readable and useful book on the Dutch economy in the twentieth century.' - Business History