Projections March 2021

The corona crisis has visible consequences for economic activity in the Netherlands. In 2020, 6.5% fewer businesses with at least 2 employees were established. This decline is not limited to the sectors most affected by health restrictions, such as the hotel and catering industry, as almost every sector saw a decrease in the number of starters last year. The number of business closures (including bankruptcies) of companies with at least 2 employees is about the same as before the corona crisis. This is striking because more businesses normally stop during recessions. The decrease in new startups and the lower number of exits than expected can translate into lower economic growth in the long term.

Word trade increased with 0,3% in February 2021. Trade growth is fueled by growth in emerging Asia (excluding China) for both imports (+ 5.5%) and exports (+ 2.8%). By contrast, China and the US are showing a contraction in both imports (US: -2.3%; China: -1.4%) and exports (US: -5.1%; China: -1.1%).

The report, 'Charted Choices' provides an overview of the budgetary and economic consequences of the policy choices made by 10 Dutch political parties.

The trade literature often treats countries as dimensionless points, which is a strong assumption. Agglomeration or lumpiness of production factors within countries can affect the national pattern of trade. In this paper we analyze comparative advantage patterns for 22 cities and 4 regions for (a selection of) 83 sectors within The Netherlands.

This English site shows some Dutch CPB-items translated in English, as a service. However, most publications are in Dutch, there are no English translations available.