Jong, Herman J. de
Catching up twice

The nature of Dutch industrial growth during the 20th century in a comparative perspective.

The period studied covers about half a century between the 1910s and 1960s, including the two world wars and the depression of the 1930s. For the first time an attempt is being made to bridge the pre- and post-war years with consistent time series on production, employment and related factors such as wages and capital indicators for the major manufacturing industries in the Netherlands. The twentieth century growth performance in Dutch industry is compared with Belgian, British and German manufacturing, using a framework of international productivity measurement. This book presents detailed accounts of productivity change through level- and time-comparisons across the four countries, in combination with an analysis based on indicators such as machinery-intensity, the rate of electrification, wage levels, market scale and factory size. The long-term process of industrial growth in the Netherlands is analysed by measuring employment shifts between industries, inter-industry wage and price movements, relative cost changes between the production factors and quality improvements of inputs. In the final chapters the Dutch industrial performance is related to international developments and domestic policies, completing the picture of 50 years of industrial growth. Together with the comparative analysis the new data suggest a new interpretation of the effects of the crisis of the 1930s and the two world wars on Dutch manufacturing. 274 Seiten, gebunden (Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte; Beiheft 3/Akademie Verlag 2003) leichte Lagerspuren/minor shelfwear