Regional development programmes for the Netherlands 1977-1980

Directorate-General For Translation European Commission

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Regional policy and regional economies
European Regional Development Fund

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• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
programmes
Regional development programmes
for the Netherlands
1977-1980
REGIONAL POLICY SERIES - 1978 8 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Regional development programmes
for the Netherlands
1977-1980
COLLECTION PROGRAMMES
Regional Policy Series no. 8
Brussels, August 1978 This publication is also available in
DE ISBN 92-825-0524-3
FRN 92-825-0526-X
NL ISBN 92-825-0527-8
A bibliographical slip can be found at the end of this volume
©Copyright ECSC - EEC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1979
Printed in Belgium
Reproduction authorized, in whole or in part, provided the source is acknowledged.
ISBN 92-825-0525-1
Catalogue number: CB-NS-78-008-EN-C CONTENTS
Page
GENERAL 5
Introduction 7
1. Relationship between national and regional policy 7
2. Characteristics of the regional policy in the Netherlands 9
3. Character and organization of the two Dutch regional development
programmes 10
4. Relationship between regional and sectoral policy 12
5. Cross-frontier regional action programmes3
Map of the area of application of the regional policy in the
Netherlands5
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR THE NORTHERN NETHERLANDS
INCENTIVE AREA7
Summary of contents9
Chapter I - Analysis of economic and cultural development and
physical planning 21
Chapter II - The aims of the development programme 4r III - Policy measures and mechanisms
Chapter IV - Finance 54 r V - Implementation6
Maps 59-6
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR THE SOUTH LIMBURG
RESTRUCTURING REGION 63
Summary of contents5
Chapter I - Analysis of economic and cultural development and
physical planning7
Chapter II - The aims of the development programme 91 r III - Policy measures and mechanisms8
Chapter IV - Finance 116 r V - Implementation 120
Maps 123-124 The text and the contents of these programmes
refer to the situation as at March 1978. THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES OF
THE NETHERLANDS
1977 - 1980
GENERAL Introduction
A regional development programme can be properly assessed only against the
background of the main features of a Member State's national regional policy
and a complementary regional policy at Community level.
The standard outline for regional development programmes recognizes the
importance of placing individual programmes in the general social and economic
context of the country. This general introductory chapter therefore devotes
attention to this point. There are also a number of related topics of a
general nature which are difficult to fit into the individual programmes, and
the following subjects will accordingly be discussed here:
1 . Relationship between national and regional policy.
2. Characteristics of the regional policy in the Netherlands.
3· Character and organization of the two Dutch regional development programmes.
4. Relationship between regional and sectoral policy.
5. Cross-frontier regional action programmes.
1. Relationship between national and regional policy
1.1 Socio-economic developments in the regions are closely related to what
happens nationally; regional development can be regarded as a cross-
section of national development.
1.2 Taking the economic development of the four parts of the country (North,
East, South and West (1)) since 1960, it can be seen from the following
table that there was a slight improvement in the regional distribution
of production, income and employment over the whole period.
Regional development of production, income and employment
North East West South Netherlands
Share of gross national product 1960 10% 16% 55% 19% 100%
Added value 1975 10% 17% 53% 20% 100%
90 Distribution of income 1960 91 107 93 100
per taxable person s 19691 93 106 94 100
95 105 100 (index:Netherlands = 100) 1972 93 95
Employment in 1975
(index: 1963 = 100b) 105 109 106 109 107
a) calculated from CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) figures supplemented by
a CPB (Central Planning Bureau) estimate of the self-employed.
b) no earlier reference year available.
; the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe; (1) Northern Netherlands
thes of Overijssel and Gelderland; Eastern Netherlands:
thes of Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland; Southerns
the provinces of North Holland, South Holland and Western:
Zeeland. An important explanation for this lies in the "overspill" of economic
activities from the Western Netherlands to other parts of the country in
the boom period of 1960-1975. An important stimulus for this outward flow
from the congested western area was the scarcity of labour there. In the
period after 1970, however, the development of the regions outside the
Western Netherlands was significantly less favourable. The uneven
development of the different parts of the country is primarily due to
differences in their industrial structure, together with divergent
sectoral development. The industrial structure of the Western Netherlands
is more favourable for employment - owing to the important position
occupied by the service sector there - than that of the other parts of the
country. The Northern Netherlands shows structural weaknesses as regards
employment and the industrial structure of the Eastern and, to a greater
degree, the Southerns has deteriorated considerably in this
respect in recent years. This is bound up with the fact that from
the mid-1960s onwards there was a reduction in employment not only in
agriculture but in manufacturing as well.
In the Southern Netherlands, the rundown of the mining industry requires
particular mention. The region's economic deterioration was also
reflected in the building industry. The unemployment rates in building
in the peripheral regions in 1975 were many times higher than in the
Western Netherlands, partly owing to the decline in commuting from these
regions to the Western Netherlands. But it should be borne in mind that
certain industries in the Western Netherlands, shipbuilding for instance,
also have to contend with serious structural difficulties.
1.3 For a proper picture, the socio-economic problems arising in the regions
must be divided up as far as possible into specifically regional problems
and national ones. It is desirable to adjust policies to the different
types of problems. The national policy that the Netherlands has outlined
to combat structural unemployment for the period to 1980 is at the same
time considered very important for reducing the regional differences in
unemployment.
Examples of structural elements of national policies with special
significance for regional development are the facilities for accelerated
depreciation of industrial buildings outside the Western Netherlands and
the policy of dispersing government services.
The government paper on Selective Growth announced a new instrument to
promote investment: the Investment Accounting Act (WIR). There is an
important regional component in this. Originally, it was planned to
replace the general investment allowance and the accelerated depreciation
on a regional basis by a basic grant and by a general regional allowance
(the latter for regions apart from the Western Netherlands). Now, to meet
the objections of Brussels, a basic grant is proposed at a higher rate
than originally, together with a selective levy on investment in the
Western Netherlands practically eliminating increases for that region.