Homepage Frits Bos
Personal data
| Name : | Frits Bos | ![]() |
| Sector : | Short Term Analysis and Fiscal Affairs | |
| Telephone : | +31 70 33 83 461 | |
| Fax : | +31 70 33 83 350 | |
| E-mail : | Frits Bos |
Activities
- Analysis of Dutch public finance in the short, medium and long term
- Analysis of policy proposals by the Dutch government and political parties
- Analysis of budgetary principles and Dutch budgetary practice
- Analysis of Dutch public finance in historical perspective
- Editor of the CPB-website for the sector Short Term Analysis and Fiscal Affairs
- Member of the editorial board of the Review of Income and Wealth.
- Private consultancy:
- Editing and writing various chapters of the new European guidelines on national accounting (Satellite accounts, Quarterly accounts, Regional Accounts, Input-output framework, Transactions in Products, Contracts, leases and licences, Classifications);
- Workshops on public finance and economic policy analysis via MicroMacroConsultants.
Research interests
- Public finance: analysis, forecasts, budgetary principles, budgetary practice, international comparison, Dutch history
- National accounts: link with economic theory, reliability, international guidelines, history, use and misuse
"We need statistics not only for explaining things, but also in order to know precisely what there is to explain. … It is impossible to understand statistical figures without understanding how they have been compiled. It is equally impossible to extract information from them or to understand the information that specialists extract for the rest of us without understanding the methods by which this is done- and the epistemological backgrounds of these methods. Thus, an adequate command of modern statistical methods is a necessary (but not a sufficient) condition for preventing the modern economist from producing nonsense." (Schumpeter, 1945, History of Economic Analysis, p. 14).
"Economists are the rarest of birds... He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher... He must understand symbols and speak in words. ... He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future" (Keynes, 1951, Essays in biography, p. 141)“There is no unique correspondence between the functions that good institutions perform and the form that such institutions take. Reformers have substantial room for creatively packaging these principles into institutional designs that are sensitive to local constraints and take advantage of local opportunities. Successful countries are those that have used this room wisely” (Rodrik, 2007, One Economics Many Recipes, p. 15).
Publications
- Book review of The Statistical Mind in Modern Society: the Netherlands (1850-1940), 2010, forthcoming in Economic History Review.
- CPB and Dutch Fiscal Policy in view of the Financial Crisis and Ageing, 2010, co-author Coen Teulings, paper presented at the Conference on Independent Fiscal Institutions, Budapest, March 18-19, 2010.
- Net Worth of Dutch Government declined from 140% GDP in 1970 to about 40% GDP in 2011 (Netto vermogen van de overheid vanaf jaren zeventig gedaald van 140% bbp naar 40% bbp), 2010, CEP2010.
- Fifty Major Contributions of Social Science to Society, nr. 8 National Accounts (Gamma canon, onderwerp nr. 8: Nationale rekeningen, Volkskrant 20 februari 2010, een meer uitgebreide versie wordt ook in een boek over de Gamma-canon gepubliceerd).
- The Art and Craft of Compiling National Accounts Statistics and their Implications for Reliability, 2009, Review of Income and Wealth, Series 55, Number 4, pp. 930-958.
- National Accounts as a Tool for Analysis and Policy; in view of History, Economic Theory and Data Compilation Issues, 2009 (VDM Publishers, Saarbrücken; you could order via Amazon this updated and expanded version of my PhD thesis The National Accounts as a Tool for Analysis; Past, Present and Future, 2003).
- The Dutch Fiscal Framework; History, Current Practice and the Role of the Central Planning Bureau, 2008 OECD Journal on Budgeting, Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 7-48.
- How Effective was the Dutch Tax Credit for ‘Exceptional’ Personal Expenditure? (Hoe effectief was de buitengewone uitgavenaftrek?), MEV2009, 2008, p. 72.
- Uses of national accounts: history, international standardization and applications in the Netherlands, 2008, Eagle Economics and Statistics Working Paper nr 1. Paper presented at the 2008 World Conference on National Accounting and Performance Measures Across Nations, 13-17 May, Washington DC.
- Book review of Dutch taxes as a tool for specific policy issues (Boekbespreking: Belasting met beleid), 2008, Tijdschrift voor Openbare Financien, nr. 2, pp. 74-76.
- What are the consequences of the new Dutch flight tax? (Wat zijn de effecten van de vliegbelasting?), CEP2008, 2008, p. 67.
- What can Austria learn from the Dutch fiscal framework?, 2008, in H. Bauer, H. Pitlik, M. Schratzenstaller (eds.), Reformen der vertikalen Aufgafenverteilung und Verwaltungmodernisierung im Bundesstaat, Offentlichtes Management und Finanzwirtschaft 9 (KDZ, Wien), pp. 163-176.
- The Dutch fiscal framework and the Role of the Central Planning Bureau, 2008, in Fiscal Policy: Current Issues and Challenges, Proceedings of the Banca d'Italia workshop held in Perugia, 29-31 March 2007, pp. 869-892.
- The Dutch fiscal framework: Unique or Transferable to Other countries?, IMF Public Financial Management Blog, 30 January 2008.
- The Dutch fiscal framework; history, current practice and the role of the CPB, 2007, CPB Document 150. This paper will also be published in the OECD Journal on budgeting 2008.
- Use, misuse and proper use of national accounts statistics, 2007, National Accounts Occasional Papers nr 96 (Statistics Netherlands).
- Compiling the national accounts demystified, 2007, National Accounts Occasional Papers nr 95 (Statistics Netherlands).
- Productivity growth in the public sector: conventions, facts and Baumol's law (Productiviteitsstijging bij de overheid: conventies, feiten en de wet van Baumol), CEP2007, 2007, p. 110.
- Charted choices 2008-2011; the economic consequendes of eight election platforms (Keuzes in kaart 2008-2011. Economische effecten van acht verkiezingsprogramma's), 2006, CPB Special publication 65 (The Hague), co-production with many other people from the CPB.
- Employment in the Dutch public sector during the Kok and Balkenende cabinet (Werkgelegenheid in de collectieve sector tijdens de kabinetten Kok en Balkenende), MEV 2007, 2006, p. 115.
- A history of national accounting - André Vanoli, The Economic History Review, 2006, vol. 59 (4), p. 872-873.
- Gross debt is not a good yardstick for the financial position of the Dutch government (De financiële positie van de overheid), CEP 2006, 2006, p. 140.
- The development of the Dutch national accounts as a tool for analysis and policy, Statistica Neerlandica, 2006, vol. 60, nr. 2, 225-258. Summary. (You want a copy of this paper? Please send a mail).
- An even more robust target for the government balance, in CPB Ageing and the sustainability of Dutch public finance, 2006, p. 48.
- Dutch public expenditure in historical perspective (De Nederlandse collectieve uitgaven in historisch perspectief), CPB Document 109, 2006. Summary. Extended Summary.
- Customs duties and the net contribution to the European Union (Invoerrechten en de netto positie van Nederland), co-author Paul Veenendaal, MEV 2006, 2005, p. 161. Also included in CPB Document 101 Europe's financial perspectives in perspective, 2005, p. 22.
- The conflict between the capital budget system of Dutch municipalities and the EMU-deficit (Het baten-lastenstelsel van lokale overheden en het EMU-saldo), MEV2005, 2004, p. 139.
- Four long term scenarios for the Dutch government and health care sector, co-authors Rudy Douven and Esther Mot, CPB Document 72, 2004 (Vier toekomstscenario's voor overheid en zorg). Also published in the proceedings of the Banca d'Italia workshop on Public Expenditure, Perugia 2005. Summary.
- Expenditure ceilings and unexpected changes in prices and wage-rates (Uitgavenkaders en ruilvoeteffecten), CEP2004, 2004, p. 128.
- The revised public sector in the CPB-macro-model SAFE (Collectieve sector in het macro-model SAFE ), CPB Memorandum 106, 2004, co-authors B. Kuipers and many others. Summary.
- A better view on Dutch public expenditure (Collectieve uitgaven beter in beeld), CEP 2004, 2004, p. 118.
- more publications
Work experience
- 2001- Senior economist at CPB unit Government Finance
- 1996-2001 Project manager Public Finance in the National Accounts, Statistics Netherlands
- 1993-1995 International Expert on Detachment, European Statistical Office, National Accounts Unit: Revising European Guidelines & Harmonizing GNP Estimates
- 1991-1993 Project manager National accounting concepts & Estimation of (Dutch) GNP for determining EU-contributions, Statistics Netherlands
- 1986-1991 Researcher on National Accounting concepts and methods, Statistics Netherlands
- 1985-1986 Teacher Statistics at the Royal Military Academy in Breda
Education
- Doctoral Thesis at the University of Twente: The National Accounts as a Tool for Analysis and Policy; Past, Present and Future, 2003
- Economics at the University of Groningen, 1985.

