The Dutch interwar economy revisited: Reconstruction and analysis of the national accounts 1921-1939

Abstract

The Dutch interwar economy revisited, Gert den BakkerThis study presents a new, consistent data set about a unique period in economic history: the years between the World Wars. The figures were compiled according to international guidelines, making comparisons with other countries and other periods possible. They shed new light on the economy in the interwar period, both compared to existing figures and from an international perspective. In the 1920s, Dutch economic growth was higher than abroad; during the depression the Netherlands underperformed, but recovery was stronger. However, in 1938 a serious downturn occurred, disrupting recovery. The metal industry and construction were hit the hardest by the crisis. The crisis in the 1930s is compared with two other economic crises: the crisis in the 1980s and the 2008 crisis. The depression in the 1930s was the most serious, economic contraction was the largest and the crisis lasted six years. Unemployment was by far the highest during the crisis in the 1930s. The development of consumption shows some remarkable differences between the crises. In the 1930s, consumption increased every year except in 1934. In contrast, during both other crisis, consumption decreased substantially in the first crisis year and remained below the pre-crisis level in all crisis years. During the 2008 crisis, the development of household consumption was the worst. The socioeconomic situation in 1938 is compared with that 50 years later. Some remarkable changes have occurred. There was an enormous expansion of the middle-class, average household became much smaller, the food budget share more than halved and the distribution of income and expenditure among households has become much less unequal.