SDG 8.1 Economy and factors of production

• Trends in the number of hours worked and median disposable income are rising. The Netherlands is top of the EU In terms of median disposable income.
• The upward trend in gross fixed capital formation in tangible assets has come to a halt. With 16.4 percent of GDP, the Netherlands ranks lowest of 14 EU countries.
• Dutch labour productivity, resource productivity and individual consumption are higher than those in many other EU countries. Resource productivity is the highest in the EU27, but the upward trend has stagnated. Labour productivity was previously stable but the trend has turned upward in the period 2016 to 2023.
• Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is increasing, and the Netherlands ranks 4th in the EU.
• Dutch consumer confidence shows a downward trend, although it has risen slightly again after reaching record lows in September and October 2022.

Dashboard and indicators

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

The objective of SDG 8 is twofold. The first part of SDG 8 addresses the question of how we can make economic growth more sustainable and more efficient. The second aspect of SDG 8, ensuring that everyone has decent work, is dealt with in a separate dashboard (8.2).

GDP is a measure of the size of a country’s economy; it can be calculated on the basis of production, income or expenditure. An increase in GDP usually results in greater material well-being in the short term, with higher median disposable income and higher individual consumption. But there is a downside, as economic activities can damage people’s welfare, living environment and well-being in the longer term. To produce goods and services, an economy needs input from capital, labour and raw materials. Are these deployed sustainably and productively? And how are profits and income distributed among citizens and businesses? Together, these factors determine how efficient and sustainable economic growth is.

On the EU scoreboards, the Netherlands is among the leaders in Europe for five indicators, while it is trailing at the back for just one indicator.

Resources and opportunities relate to volumes of labour, capital and knowledge and raw materials used to produce goods and services, and options to subsequently sell these goods and services.

Use concerns productivity and sustainability of the use of production factors, and consumption. Economic ratios are used to measure this: the medium-term trend in labour productivity (value added per hour worked) has turned from neutral to rising. For resource productivity this was the other way around. Labour productivity, resource productivity and volume of individual consumption are all relatively high compared with other EU countries. For resource productivity, the Netherlands even leads the EU field.

Outcomes relate to the rate, efficiency and sustainability of economic growth.

Subjective assessment refers to consumer and business sentiment. Economic and business cycle trends play a role here, but so does government policy: during the coronavirus pandemic, for example, struggling businesses received financial support.