Labour Market Policy and Industrial Relations in the Netherlands

This chapter provides an overview of the origin and the history of labour market policies and industrial relations, and shows that there have been profound, but not very consistent changes in labour market policies and industrial relations. It discusses how Dutch policies—and the changes made to them over time—compare internationally, how the Dutch system has always been difficult to categorize, and how the once relatively clear differences between labour market regimes have narrowed over time. It also demonstrates that there is little convincing evidence for the impact of these policies on labour market performance. It concludes by offering some challenges for the study of Dutch labour market policies and industrial relations in the future.