Long term projections for the Netherlands indicate that demand for nontradables-e.g. health care services-will increase relative to supply due to population ageing. If this leads to higher future real exchanges rates this will erode the return of the savings currently made to prepare for ageing. This paper explores the magnitude of potential price effects using a modified version of the two country, four commodity framework developed by Obstfeld and Rogoff (Brookings Papers Econ Activity 1: 2005) to explore the exchange rate effects of the balance of payments reversal in the US. When these price effects are substantial this may have serious consequences for policies to enhance national saving in the Netherlands.

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Do Government expenditures create additional jobs? Do Government expenditures create additional jobs? Government expenditures often aim at creating jobs. This article presents a simple model to predict the impact of additional government expenditures on employment. The model takes account of the availability of labour. In the long run, the labour market will tend towards equilibrium. If additional jobs are created, wages will rise, causing other jobs to disappear over time. Also, labour supply will go up.Two case studies show that the size of the effect on employment depends on the economic sectors in which employment grows, and on the business cycle. Involvement of the Netherlands in the production of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) airplane will create jobs in a tight labour market for technicians, leading to a strong displacement of other jobs. On the other hand, subsidies for investments in energy saving in buildings will create many jobs for unemployed persons.Government expenditures do not only reduce unemployment. They also increase productivity as workers move towards jobs with a higher productivity. And government expenditures involve costs. This implies that a social cost-benefit analysis is needed to get a full picture of the effects.