IMF Staff Country Reports

This Selected Issues paper examines the strengthening of the external current account for the Netherlands. It reviews this issue, concluding that the change in corporate profitability in a new wage environment was a crucial element, alongside fiscal consolidation, in turning around the current account—which has now moved into strong surplus. The paper analyzes the performance of the financial sector. It also reviews the experience of a decade and a half in a de facto monetary union for the Netherlands.