Abstract
Although the population of the Netherlands is increasing, the population growth rate, even if fluctuating considerably, has been declining since the 1960s. The age structure of the Netherlands since the 1960s has also experienced change, declining youth (under 20 years old), growth and then decline in the 20–40 year-old age cohort, a significant increase in the 40–65 age cohort, and gradual increases in the 65–80+ cohort. As a result of the changing demography, the workforce will be older and this will impact upon the labour market, increasing the number of older workers and reducing the number of new entrants. The case study of the Netherlands revealed the different responses to demographic challenges occurring within the selected regions; with each region (Groningen/Drenthe, Limburg and Zeeland) experiencing different issues associated with its socio-economic situation, localised population shrinkage, population ageing, migration, labour shortages and skill gaps.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
A whole-of-government approach is defined as “one where a government actively uses formal and/or informal networks across the different agencies within that government to co-ordinate the design and implementation of the range of interventions that the government’s agencies will be making in order to increase the effectiveness of those interventions in achieving the desired objectives” (OECD 2006).
- 2.
Job carving is a term for customising job duties, such as creating specialist job roles that free up the time of specialist staff or swapping job duties to make the most of individual skills (http://base-uk.org/employers-recruitment-jobcarving).
- 3.
Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialised suppliers, service providers, firms in related sectors and related institutions (e.g. universities, R&D institutions, trade associations etc.) in fields that compete but also co-operate (Porter 1998).
References
Commissie Bakker (2008) Naar een toekomst die werkt. Hoofdlijnen Advies Commissie Arbeidsparticipatie [in Dutch] [Towards a future that works. Highlights of the Advisory Committee on Labour Participation], commissioned by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Commissie Arbeidsparticipatie, Rotterdam
de Jong A, van Duin C (2011) Regional population and household projections, 2011–2040 marked regional differences. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague. Available at: www.pbl.nl/en
ESPON and NIDI (2010) DEMIFER demographic and migratory flows affecting European regions and cities. ESPON and NIDI, Luxembourg
European Commission and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (2013) Policy brief: introducing the Active Ageing Index, March 2013
European Union and OECD (2012) Policy brief on senior entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial activities in Europe. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg
Eurostat Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database. Accessed June 2012
Euwals R, Folmer K, Knaap T, Volkerink M (2009) Bevolkingskrimp en de arbeidsmarkt [in Dutch] [Population decline and the labour market]. In: van Nimwegen N, Heering L (ed) Bevolkingsvraagstukken in Nederland anno 2009. Van Groei naar krimp. Een demografische omslag in beeld [Population issues in the Netherlands in 2009. From growth to shrinkage. A Demographic Change]. KNAW Press, Amsterdam, pp 145–162
London Business School (n.d.) Entrepreneurship summer school. London Business School, London. Available at: www.london.edu/programmes/executiveeducation/entrepreneurshipsummerschool.html. Accessed June 2012
Martinez-Fernandez C, Kubo N, Noya A, Weyman T (2012) Demographic change and local development: shrinkage, regeneration and social dynamics. OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/9789264180468-en
Martinez-Fernandez C et al (2011) The territorial dimension of the european social fund: a local approach for local jobs? OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Papers, No. 2011/23. OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/5k9h5zbbdb41-en
Martinez-Fernandez C et al (2013a) Demographic change in the Netherlands: strategies for resilient labour markets, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Papers, No. 2013/13. OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k3xnhvzhmxn-en
Martinez-Fernandez C et al (2013b) Measuring the potential of local green growth: an analysis of Greater Copenhagen, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Papers, No. 2013/01. OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/5k4dhp0xzg26-en
Musterd S, Kovacs Z (eds) (2013) Place-making and policies for competitive cities. Wiley Blackwell, Oxford
Musterd S, Murie A (eds) (2010) Making competitive cities. Wiley Blackwell, Oxford
Netherlands Statistics, Available at: www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/home/default.htm. Accessed June 2012
OECD (2006) Whole government approach to fragile states. OECD Publishing, Paris. Available at: www.oecd.org/dac/incaf/37826256.pdf. Accessed June 2012
OECD (2011) More and better jobs: employment pacts’ experience and business strategies. OECD-LEED Seminar, Barcelona. Available at: www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/seminarmoreandbetterjobs-employmentpactsexperiencebusinessstrategiesbarcelonaspain.htm. Accessed June 2012
OECD/International Labour Office (2011) Job-rich growth in Asia. Strategies for local employment, skills development and social protection, local economic and employment development (LEED). OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/9789264110984-en
PBL and CBS (2011) Regionale bevolkings-en huishoudensprognoses 2011–2040 [in Dutch] [Regional population and household projections 2011–2040]. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency/Statistics Netherlands, The Hague. Available at: www.regionalebevolkingsprognoses.nl. Accessed June 2012
Porter ME (1998) On competition. Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA
SER (2011) Bevolkingskrimp benoemen en benutten [in Dutch] [Name and utilise population decline]. SER, The Hague
Verwest F (2011) Demographic decline and local government strategies. A study of policy change in the Netherlands. Eburon, Delft
Verwest F, van Dam F (2010) From combatting to managing: demographic decline in the Netherlands. Policy strategies for current and future shrinking regions [English translation of the summary of the Dutch report “Van bestrijden naar begeleiden: demografische krimp in Nederland. Beleidsstrategieën voor huidige en toekomstige krimpregio’s”]. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague. Available at: www.pbl.nl/en
VVD and PvdA (2012) Bruggen slaan. Regeerakkoord VVD-PvdA [in Dutch] [Building Bridges: The new coalition agreement between the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) and the PvdA (Labour Party)], The Hague, 29 Oct 2012
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Verwest, F. et al. (2017). Resilient Labour Markets and Demographic Change in Selected Regions of the Netherlands. In: Martinez, C., Weyman, T., van Dijk, J. (eds) Demographic Transition, Labour Markets and Regional Resilience. Advances in Spatial Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63197-4_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63197-4_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-63196-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-63197-4
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)