Netherlands : Selected Background Issues

This paper analyzes whether the lower increase in wages was a factor in the labor productivity and employment developments in the Netherlands. It argues that there is indeed such a link: rapid wage growth leads to a substitution of capital for labor, and hence to less labor-intensive production; slow wage growth leads to less rapid growth of labor productivity and, for the same output growth, results in a better employment performance. The paper also discusses the causes of the lower wage growth in the Netherlands.