Due to its open economy, the Netherlands in particular derives its prosperity from trading and exports, according to Bernard Wientjes, Chairman of employers’ association VNO-NCW. Globalisation therefore offers many advantages to the Netherlands, but this is not readily apparent to everyone. Many citizens are worried about their jobs, the new competition, their attainments, and do no realise sufficiently how much they owe to globalisation. In Dutch and international politics, calls for protectionism are regularly made.

This increasingly gives an international dimension to social issues, especially when it comes to climate change, energy security, migration and cultural diversity. The crucial question is how to address these challenges appropriately in a globalising world: how do we connect globalisation to sustainable development?

Together with globalisation, sustainable development is the essential challenge for the world in our time. This is the common ground we share when dealing with the major challenges we are facing, with respect to climate change, energy security, the food supply, poverty, migration, diversity, development cooperation and security. It will determine our future and that of the next generation.
Globalisation changes corporate management. Companies make investment decisions on the basis of a global perspective and are faced with the choice of either maintaining company activities, production, research and the accounts department, or whether to transfer some of these. This choice involves determining the relative importance of market opportunities, labour costs, and the availability of staff, against extra costs on transport and management, quality guarantees and longer delivery periods. Companies are becoming a global network in which the various segments continually share information, knowledge, services and components.

Globalisation is beneficial to a small, open economy like the Netherlands, in which trade, transport and financial services are the leading sectors. Globalisation is often seen as threatening, but in fact it mainly offers opportunities. Especially given the fact that in Europe population growth has practically stagnated and many markets are saturated. Elsewhere in the world, populations are undergoing explosive growth. This demographic explosion has been called the most significant issue of our time (contributing to environmental degradation, migration, and poverty). However, at the same time a new economic dynamic is emerging in countries with an increasing, ambitious population. Due to their high growth figures and large populations, the emerging countries form important growth and sales markets. The attention given to sustainability, including energy conservation and water management, offers numerous innovation opportunities.

Globalisation is criticised for having led to an increase rather than a decrease in global income disparities. The antiglobalists are correct in pointing out that a major part of the world still lives in poverty and that in some parts of the world income disparities have increased. Yet in many very big countries, particularly in Asia, substantial progress is made, high growth figures are achieved, there is a large middle class, and the poorest populations are slowly increasing their income.
It is important to note that all these countries have liberalised their economies.
Economist and ethicist Johan Graafland has concluded from empirical research that trade liberalisation in the long term leads to a decrease in poverty and to a slight increase in income disparity in poorer countries. Economist Lans Bovenberg is more emphatic: “The empirics very clearly prove that there is no alternative to a decentralised market economy for the generation of wealth. No one prospers without a market.”

The strategic question the Netherlands is facing is how it can distinguish itself internationally and make a difference. The answer lies not only with sectors in which all countries invest, such as IT and biotechnology. Rather, the challenge is to give the appropriate stimulus to existing initiatives, including in the area of sustainable products and services. To remain attractive as an investment location, the Netherlands must be able to compete and remain in step with other countries.

Where do you locate the opportunities and challenges for the Netherlands in a globalised world? Which strategic choices do you think the corporate sector and the government should make to fully exploit technological, cultural and social opportunities? What is your vision of the Netherlands in 2020?