National accounts for the Low Countries, 1800–1990

Abstract

During the 1980s research groups were formed in both Belgium and the Netherlands to analyse the long term economic development of these countries using reconstructed national accounts. This article presents an overview of the current state ofthe art. Moreover, in two case studies comparison is made of the economies of both countries. Employing new data a comparison oflabour productivity in agriculture is attempted while the factors determining the economic development of both countries in the interwar period are analyzed.