The Development of the Dutch National Accounts as a Tool for Analysis and Policy

Statistica Neerlandica, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 225-258, 2006

44 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2007 Last revised: 7 Oct 2009

See all articles by Frits Bos

Frits Bos

CPB Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis

Abstract

Since the start of modern national accounting in the 1930s, the Netherlands has played a dominant role in the development of the national accounts. This paper discusses the origins and development of the Dutch national accounts. This includes the surprisingly slow start of political arithmetic in the Netherlands in comparison to France and the UK, the views of van Cleeff and Tinbergen on planning and national accounting, the role of Derksen and Oomens as fathers of the Dutch national accounts, the Dutch school of national accounting, the interaction with national statistics and the role of the international guidelines and the European Union. The paper takes also a look into the future. The major challenges are to bridge the gap with data users and to increase relevance by e.g. extended accounts, long term time series on government finance and modules on education, health care and social security.

Keywords: Political arithmetic, national accounts as a tool for planning and modelling, Dutch school of national accounting, Dutch national accounts practice, role of Europe and the international guidelines on national accounting

JEL Classification: B10, B23, B25, C82, D78, E60, O20, O11, P44, N01

Suggested Citation

Bos, Frits, The Development of the Dutch National Accounts as a Tool for Analysis and Policy. Statistica Neerlandica, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 225-258, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=992181

Frits Bos (Contact Author)

CPB Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis ( email )

P.O. Box 80510
2508 GM The Hague, 2585 JR
Netherlands

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