CPB MODELS AND EMPLOYMENT POLICY IN THE NETHERLANDS

The CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis plays an impor tant role in the preparation of economic policy in the Netherlands. Th is paper addresses the interaction between CPB models and employment p olicy during the period 1950-1997. We discuss several examples of the impact of CPB models on employment policies. At the same time, the spe cific needs of policy makers influenced model building at the CPB. Sev eral innovations of CPB models were needed to explain the actual devel opments on the Dutch labour market and to investigate the usefulness o f various remedies addressing the disequilibria on this market. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.