In the late 1960s, after the discovery of natural gas deposits in the North Sea, the Dutch economy changed dramatically over a relatively short period. In 1964, the country had exported almost no gas; a decade later it exported the equivalent of 74mn tons of oil.
The gas exports raised the value of the guilder, and taxes on the windfall allowed the Dutch to increase social spending, as research by Michael Ellman of the University of Amsterdam in the late 1970s showed. This squeezed manufacturers outside the oil sector at both ends. Costs went up at home, and exchange rates made it harder to export.
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