Dutch houses set against the background of a wind farm in Urk, the Netherlands, where household debt remains high (photo: Remko de Waal/ANO/Newscom)

February 14, 2019

Growth in the Netherlands has picked up and unemployment has fallen sharply in recent years. But real wage and productivity growth have been slow, possibly exacerbated by the increasing share of short-term labor contracts. Finally, the high savings rate and low level of domestic investment by large multinationals, as well as the high debt and illiquid assets of households, are hindering a pickup in the country's growth potential.