Business and Economy of the Netherlands

(3 Credits)

The goal of the course will be to understand what makes the Netherlands it is today. What led to the transformation of the Dutch economy? We will try to understand the impact different historic events and policies have had on the economy, such as the discovery of curing of herring, the water management, the discovery of natural gas in the North Sea and the current emphasis on startups and innovation. We will discuss the unique Dutch culture with emphasis on consensus and tolerance and the country’s vulnerability to climate change and the recent rise of populism.