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Curriculum The Netherlands' Economy

The Netherlands' Economy

How a small, low-lying country became a trading powerhouse: the Dutch Golden Age, Rotterdam port, the Dutch disease, farm exports and greenhouses, ASML, water management, the polder model of consensus, part-time work, the nitrogen crisis, and a recap.

  1. The Netherlands at a Glance An overview of the Netherlands, a country of about 18 million people with one of the world's most open economies, and its trading, farming and technology strengths. 📄 Read-aloud
  2. The Dutch Golden Age How the Dutch Republic became the world's leading economy in the 1600s through trade, the Dutch East India Company, the Amsterdam stock exchange and tulip mania. 📄 Read-aloud
  3. Rotterdam: Europe's Largest Port How Rotterdam became Europe's largest port, its role as a gateway to Germany via the Rhine, automated terminals, and its energy and petrochemical hub. 📄 Read-aloud
  4. The Original Dutch Disease How the discovery of the Groningen gas field in 1959 led to a stronger currency and weaker manufacturing, giving economists the term Dutch disease. 📄 Read-aloud
  5. Greenhouses and Farm Exports How the tiny Netherlands became the world's second largest agricultural exporter by value, using greenhouses, research at Wageningen and flower auctions. 📄 Read-aloud
  6. ASML and the Chip Machine Monopoly How Dutch company ASML became the only maker of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed for advanced chips, and export controls on sales to China. 📄 Read-aloud
  7. The Netherlands' Economy: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on Dutch trade, the Golden Age, Rotterdam, Dutch disease and farm exports. 5 questions
  8. Living Below Sea Level How the Dutch manage water with dikes, polders and the Delta Works built after the 1953 flood, and how they now export water expertise. 📄 Read-aloud
  9. The Polder Model and Consensus How Dutch unions, employers and government negotiate wages and policies through consensus, including the 1982 Wassenaar Agreement that traded wage restraint for jobs. 📄 Read-aloud
  10. The Part-Time Economy Why the Netherlands has the highest share of part-time workers in the rich world, especially women, and the benefits and costs of this pattern. 📄 Read-aloud
  11. The Nitrogen Crisis How a 2019 court ruling on nitrogen pollution froze construction permits in the Netherlands, and plans to cut livestock that triggered farmer protests and a new party. 📄 Read-aloud
  12. Letterbox Companies and Tax Planning How the Netherlands became a hub for multinational tax planning through holding companies and royalty routing, and reforms to curb it. 📄 Read-aloud
  13. The Netherlands' Economy: Recap A recap of the Netherlands' economy, from trade to technology. 📄 Read-aloud

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