Publications
Publications
- June 2002 (Revised June 2014)
- HBS Case Collection
The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking?
By: Huw Pill, Marie-Laure Y Goepfer, Mathijs Robbens and Ingrid Vogel
Abstract
The Netherlands suffered economic crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, despite (or perhaps because of) its access to North Sea gas. In response to mounting inflation and unemployment, a tripartite agreement between employers, unions, and government was reached in 1982. This agreement laid the basis for macroeconomic stabilization in the 1980s. At the same time, a variety of structural reforms were introduced—centered on improving the flexibility of the labor market by increasing part-time work. The results appeared impressive: by the mid-1990s, the Netherlands was enjoying strong economic growth and unemployment rates of below 3%, much lower than its large continental European neighbors. However, many observers doubted the sustainability of this so-called "polder model." Low unemployment had been achieved in part by reducing participation rates. Some doubted whether a declining working population could sustain the Dutch standard of living. At the same time, the Netherlands was not a leader in technological development, and others were concerned whether it could compete effectively in the new global information economy.
Keywords
Citation
Pill, Huw, Marie-Laure Y Goepfer, Mathijs Robbens, and Ingrid Vogel. "The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking?" Harvard Business School Case 702-051, June 2002. (Revised June 2014.)