A quarter of the economic growth of the Netherlands flowed abroad last year, Statistics Netherlands reports. This was because companies paid out part of their increased profits abroad. These included Shell, which moved its head office to the United Kingdom. The profits of Dutch subsidiaries largely flowed there.
Furthermore, an agreement on the closure of the Groningen gas field also resulted in Dutch economic growth being directed abroad. Due to the accelerated closure, the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) receives government compensation for filling the gas storage. NAM is owned by the British Shell and the American ExxonMobil.
Last year, on balance, other countries still benefited from Dutch economic growth, in 2021 this will be the other way around. At that time, people in the Netherlands received more on balance from abroad, for example via salaries from foreign employers.
Within the Netherlands, much of last year’s economic growth came to households. This benefited the disposable income of the Dutch, i.e. the income that remains after taxes and social security contributions.
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