Jan L. van Zanden is Professor of Economic History at the University of Utrecht, and Director of the Netherlands Research School for Economics and Social History (N.W. Posthumus Institute). His previous publications include The Rise and Decline of Holland's Economy 1350-1850 (1993), and The Transformation of European Agriculture in the 19th Century: The Case of the Netherlands (1004).

'No other work of this kind is available...Van Zanden has given us a readable and useful book on the Dutch economy in the twentieth century.' - Business History

• Preface 1. The Long Twentieth Century 2. Characteristics of the Dutch Economy 3. The Rise of the Managerial Enterprise 4. The Politics of a Pillarized Society and the Development of the Welfare State 5. The Labour Market 6. The Best of Both Worlds: Catching Up 1914-1929 7. The Long Stagnation 1929-1949 8. The Golden Years 1950-1973 9. 1973-1995: Falling Behind Again? Bibliography