Business
Financial security is not the only measure of the welfare of a population. Safety, access to housing, medical care and education are just as important to your sense of well-being. But on a regional level, those can be somewhat misleading indicators: it was announced a few months ago that the inhabitants of Drenthe were the happiest and wealthiest in the Netherlands, even though the province has long had fairly limited job opportunities. Part of the reported satisfaction levels came from access to unspoiled nature, but more of was due to the fact that there were a disproportionate number of retirees living there. Recent research has also found that people with a recent migrant background and those without higher education feel that they do not experience the same degree of equality as other Dutch people. So how is globalization influencing people’s satisfaction with life and job opportunities in the north? Professor Marcel Timmer, who will be joining the board of the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, sat down with Econ 050 to talk about the region’s place in the country and the world.