The Netherlands
The Netherlands has one of the best economic systems of the world. One of the reasons is that the infrastructure, healthcare and education are well- developed, being the main drivers for economic growth in a country. The local currency (the Euro) and the bank system are very strong. In 2017 the inflation is 1.8 percent, which is low. The GDP per capital was $49,500 in 2014 and in 2016 it was $50,800. The GDP real growth rate was 1.7 percent in 2016. That means that the GDP growth minus the inflation rate is the GDP real growth rate. So the GDP per capital grew over the last two years.
International Trade
The Netherlands' main trade partner is Germany because the Netherlands has a big harbour ''Rotterdam'' and Germany doesn't have such a big harbour. This means that the Netherlands has the most import and export with Germany. The Netherlands has other import partners like China, Belgium, US and the UK. I think this is because these countries produce a lot of products and Germany and Belgium are bordering countries to the Netherlands. The top five import products are petroleum, machinery, metals, transportation and medication.
The other export partners of the Netherlands are Belgium, UK, France and Italy. I think this is probably because it's easy to transport these products to these countries. The export products are petroleum, machinery, medication, foodstuffs and metals.
The other export partners of the Netherlands are Belgium, UK, France and Italy. I think this is probably because it's easy to transport these products to these countries. The export products are petroleum, machinery, medication, foodstuffs and metals.
The Netherlands is a part of three trade organisations. The first one is the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) they have been a member since 1 January 1948. The second one is the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and they have been a member since 1 January 1995. The last one is the European Union. The Netherlands was one of the founders of the European Union. The European Union was founded in 1951 (after the second world war). On the flag of the European Union the stars represent the longest members of the European Union. Its aim was to create more peace through more trade agreements. Up until now the European Union has been successful. Due to open borders people can freely trade of goods and services.
Inflation & Unemployment
One of the reasons that the Dutch economy is very strong is that the inflation for the last ten years has been between 1 to 2 percent for each year. A low inflation is very good for a country because when there is a low inflation the wages and the prices of products will grow a little up each year. The European central bank controles the inflation for many European countries who use the Euro as the currency. Because of this, it's difficult for a country to let the inflation rise or fall.
The unemployment rate in the Netherlands is 5.3 percent. This is relatively low compared to other countries. This is because the Netherlands has a growing economy and that means that the unemployment rate will drop. When an economy grows, people will spend more money and then there are more jobs available. And when people have a job, they will earn more and then the economy will grow further. When the unemployment rate for people under 25 is high, that is worse than when the unemployment rate for people above 50 is high. This is because young people still have study debts and they need to work to get money to pay them.
The unemployment rate in the Netherlands is 5.3 percent. This is relatively low compared to other countries. This is because the Netherlands has a growing economy and that means that the unemployment rate will drop. When an economy grows, people will spend more money and then there are more jobs available. And when people have a job, they will earn more and then the economy will grow further. When the unemployment rate for people under 25 is high, that is worse than when the unemployment rate for people above 50 is high. This is because young people still have study debts and they need to work to get money to pay them.
Poverty & Wealth Distribution
The Gini index in the Netherlands is 0.29. 0 means perfect equality, 1 means total inequality. So you can see that the Gini index is 0.29, that means that there is not a very big difference between the people with high and low incomes. Of course there is a difference, that is because not everyone has the same job and get the same amount of money. But the people with a low income needs to pay less tax than the people with a high income. So when you use this method with the different taxes there won't be a big difference between the income of people.
Old Age Pension
In the Netherlands the government arranged for a very good old age pension system. Everyone older than 67 years old will receive a basic income from the government of 800 Euros gross amount per month. Next to this employees have to ensure themselves at a pension fund during the years they work. Their contribution is about 20 percent of their income while the employer mostly contributes the same percentages. This pension system qualifies as one of the best in the world.