hey guys welcome back to 400 reacts i hope you guys are having a good day
and uh we're going to be checking out a lot of videos for italy next month i think
that's going to be may i think the next month after whatever we're in right now will be may
but um the point is we're going to be doing a series for may like uh the series that we're
currently doing for the netherlands actually today we're going to be checking out the netherlands
digging deep into the dutch economy so economy is a very important thing for uh life it's very
important right so um that's where a lot of things stem from so it's very important to know about
that so we're gonna be checking out that video today but i just wanna say uh if you're italian
and you're watching this please do uh share the videos so uh your italian buddies can actually
come on board here for and react and enjoy these uh wonderful reaction videos and uh have a
beautiful time here so uh if you're not subscribed and you're watching this video
for the first time here at foreign reacts uh do subscribe and uh leave a like on the video and
uh let's have a blast together but either ways guys let's get right into this video
known for windmills tulips tall people and stealing the land from the sea the
netherlands is among the top 20 biggest economies in the world and a gdp per capita of over fifty
thousand dollars if you are dutch don't forget to share your opinions in the comments section below
the geographic location of the country is both its best and worst feature best because it
serves as a european trade hub worst because a quarter of the country is below sea levels
but the country's non-stop battle against water has made it an expert in water management dredging
and flood protection it is truly exceptional to see how the dutch managed all the delta works
dams dikes and polders it's a story of remarkable engineering and human resilience from which the
world could learn a lot considering the rising sea levels is a topic of concern for many countries
the dutch are highly individualistic there is this topic that individualistic societies are more
likely to gain economic success collectively but it's debatable on the other hand the government
traditionally had a higher regulatory role in the economy the government's economic interventions
were significantly reduced back in the 1980s when market economy was professed worldwide
this resulted in considerable privatization as well as the restructuring of welfare programs
nonetheless it remains highly regulated but still a market economy in fact it is arguably often
referred to as the birthplace of modern capitalism forget about amazon apple google and so on
back in the 17th century the dutch east india company also known as the voc was the yeah because
the the exactly what he's going to talk about right now i know that you guys were
mad you know that's how i actually learned about you know um what do you say the
independence recognition uh with america how you guys helped in that situation first country to
actually recognize the american independence i think and um that was wild because it was the
important and the uh the i don't remember what it's called but the point is it's it has a lot
to do with the sea you know whatever the ports the ports most valuable company of all times
it did commit many atrocities and misused its powers with colonialism nevertheless it formalized
many modern day economic principles that serves as a blueprint for modern era corporations it was not
i like how he actually spoke about that because a lot of people don't speak about it like that
and that's the form of understanding that you can understand like a lot of people just speak about
colony colony or whatever that worked um like oh my gosh they just wanted to just hate you no most
of these people who did what they did they only wanted um superiority they wanted to be powerful
and it there's a thing called understanding and once you are able to put yourself in somebody's
situation and understand why they did what they did you'll be a very happy person because you
won't be focused on what they did to you you'll be focused on why they did it to you and it's really
important to understand from other people's perspectives that's just how i see life and
i guess probably that's why my my uh my beliefs is not really appreciated by a lot of people because
i just see things differently you know kind of crazy until the late 1700s that they were replaced
by the british as the world's leading trading nation right the tradition of being merchants
and traders carries on as the country's economy continues to be highly dependent on foreign trade
but there are many lessons one could learn from the economic history of the netherlands
tulips were introduced into europe from turkey after 1550. the vibrantly beautiful flowers
became immensely popular infected by a virus some varieties of tulips showed varied patterns
as the rich sometimes collect rare items like paintings for ridiculous prices many wealthy
individuals began to collect and display these rare tulips the demand for mixed colored tulips
exceeded the supply and prices of these rare bulbs skyrocketed in early 1600 a single bulb of a new
variety was satisfactory as dowry for a bride or as a payment for a thriving brewery in france
the madness reached its peak in holland during 1633-1637 many people thought that the whole of
europe and possibly the whole world would want to own tulips the price is elevated to an extent that
a single flower was priced more than some houses while trades were done as cash for the bulbs many
bulbs were sold and resold as a future contract without even leaving the ground eventually the
madness ended in 1637 with a drastic collapse in prices and many losing their fortunes tulip mania
often described as the first recording that's what happens when you invest in something psycho
bro like imagine uh a tulip valuing more than a house let's say your house values like 150 000
or let's be real okay let's be real you can get a house for like a fifty thousand dollars right
and you have a two of that and you invest your money in two lips bro like something so fragile
i would never do that like no matter how much i love something i could not invest my money in
something like that fragile like even stocks all of these stocks fragile fragile bitcoin fragile
very fragile speculative bubble is a perfect example of how people forget how much of an
intrinsic value an asset holds they bought more and more in hopes to sell them later for profits
it may seem silly to buy a tulip for let's say 1 million dollars but if you believe you can
sell it for 2 million after a certain time then it just seems like a very reasonable decision
as well as a rational investment it is this is known as the greater fool fairy
some people have compared mania with numerous economic bubbles including cryptocurrencies
while others oppose the similarities between the two with different sets of arguments
recently some historians have highlighted that tulip mania was highly exaggerated and not many
people were involved in it but these history corrections were only meant to emphasize that
tulip mania arguably didn't impact the rest of the dutch economy tulip mania is a cautionary tale
of how speculative bubbles are generated it shows our irrational biases it shows our tendency to get
carried away with anything then they collapse and we move on to find a new madness and the pattern
repeats thanks touched i had no idea about that the discovery of natural gas and groningen had a
huge positive impact on the dutch economy this discovery was as important for the netherlands
as oil for norway or banks for switzerland while natural gas helped the dutch economy stretch its
wings it also negatively impacted the overall economy now if this sounds like a paradox then
you are right because that's what it is the dutch disease a term coined in 1977 by the economist
highlighted a relationship between the economic growth of one sector compared to the decline in
other sectors the growing sectors are usually natural resources but not limited to them
while the other sectors could be manufacturing and agriculture the netherlands began exporting
natural gas but when the revenue started pouring in the country's currency guilders wait so the
netherlands actually have um natural gases like i don't see that please don't i seem
like i'm a little smart dude oh you're you're capable of talking about this economy nonsense
but y'all had natural oil like for real gases i mean for real appreciate it happens due to the
currency's higher demand in the international market this may sound good but it wasn't
the appreciation made the netherlands exports become expensive for other countries to purchase
putting pressure on the other sectors also the appreciated currency made the imports more
affordable for consumers who started preferring imported items over domestically made products
this resulted in further decline of the local manufacturing industry the growing sector with
tons of revenue from exports offers better wages which pushes the other sectors to pay more to
their workers who would otherwise flee towards the growing sector exactly but there are only
limited people the growing sector could hire this along with the decline of other sectors
increases unemployment even investors flee towards the growing sector for better profits
the growing sector also brings more revenue for governments which results in increased government
spending that manifests into public infrastructure military spending and welfare programs the welfare
programs make the government look good in front of the voters but if this is done carelessly
it could lead to further issues for example if something happens to the growing sector the
welfare programs need to be restructured which people dislike the more complex and diverse an
economy is the less likely it is to be impacted by the dutch disease the dutch disease is a result of
wealth managed unwisely the resource curse is real it shows the riches could be a curse sometimes
rather than a blessing it's a lesson that you shouldn't put all the eggs in one basket
you can leave into the dutch economy okay the only thing that cheers up a dutch more
than an unexpected discount is if they could get something for free the bicycle friendly
people are less inclined towards spending money on branded products they would rather choose a
good product that works for little money squeezing out the most for less is a preference but before
you call them greedy you should know that the netherlands is among the top countries that
spend most on development aid per capita as well as a percentage of gross national income
there is this dutch saying that roughly translates to just act normal then you're already
acting crazy enough not trying to stand out and being content with the normal is the key this
also manifests in people's financial decisions also if you brag about your wealth the orange
loving people could put you in your place with their stereotypical dutch straightforwardness and
i don't know why people always be trying to brag about wealth though like
when i was younger like i've always said i used to wanted to be a billionaire but probably the more
i got older i was like man life is for living bro like why you need all that like nah bro you just
need to be happy you know if you need something you you're able to buy it but ah it is what it is
man just be happy and i think the netherlands is a beautiful place to be happy because that water it
just looks so peaceful when it when you like look at these people in the park bro like just imagine
you're at that park and a few steps away from where you're sitting there's a bunch of waters you
got some ducks in the water and you're just going by everything's just you know i like that practice
the netherlands has one of the highest employment rates which is a measure of the people employed in
the working age population but what stands out is a huge number of people who works part time
the country has a flexible working culture the dutch are relatively more inclined towards working
in the evenings or on the weekends the netherlands is among the countries with the lowest income
inequality however wealth inequality is debatable although it does bring quite polarized opinions
we do like to add that countries with a big middle class population usually
give an impression of low wealth inequality but that does not mean there aren't super
rich people owning a big chunk of the total wealth always countries with the highest
levels of social spending are considered as the welfare states public social welfare
spending is high in the netherlands but it is not among the highest as one would expect
considering they are vocal about their social security and one of the best pension systems
household debts has reached above 230 percent of the net disposable income which is among
the highest in the world if there is anything to complain about other than the rainy windy weather
that would be the high rent in amsterdam the netherlands ranks high on the cost of living index
the netherlands has a combination of growing elderly population and a low fertility rate which
is below the replacement levels but immigration is a touchy topic in the country they are less
inclined towards more open immigration policies to increase the working age population like canada
or australia the world's oldest profession is fully regulated and legalized by the government
while it provides safety and fixes many issues it is also a way for the
government to tax it instead of letting it drift away as an underground economy
the netherlands is among the countries with high tax revenue to gdp ratio which is a share
of a country's output that is collected by the government through taxes the dutch residents
and companies are among the biggest investors in foreign countries the country is also home to some
of the world's biggest companies including royal dutch shell heineken and phillips people have high
trust in the government the netherlands ranks among the least corrupt countries
however it also ranks among the top 10 list on the financial secrecy index that ranks countries based
on their financial secrecy offshore financial activities and illegal financial flows which
are all sophisticated terms for saying it's a tax haven the country also ranks high on the corporate
tax haven index helping multinational companies to underpay income taxes it would be interesting
to see if the recent eu harmonization tax plan could influence this whole matter okay while the
country acts like it's virtuous and on the high moral grounds with the clean energy initiatives
the unusual earthquakes are the real reason behind the discontinuation of natural gas extraction
the netherlands has a vital position in europe's distribution network with shipping airport
rotterdam and amsterdam ports as well as a connection to the euro corridors with warehouses
and distribution centers the netherlands offers its services to big international corporations
to supply their goods to europe rotterdam port is also called the largest german port due to
its significance for the economy of germany part of the eurozone the country's monetary policy is
controlled by the european central bank the dutch economy is more strongly tied to the
european union than the uk so it has more to lose if it goes towards the same path that the united
kingdom took you can share your opinion on the possibility of nexit in the comments section below
wait what nexit that's what you would call an exit wow that's that's why lin's inclination to
adopt technology for agriculture is impressive but also natural considering it has a high population
density the dutch agricultural sector is highly mechanized with greenhouses and associated
technology geared towards automation and employing the smallest workforce for the maximum output
possible wagoning in university is like the stanford of agriculture and consistently ranks as
number one the netherlands is the second biggest exporter of agricultural products in the world
but if you see rankings of the biggest food producers from different sources you will
notice that the netherlands is nowhere among the top many sources on the internet are linking the
value of exports with the innovation happening in the agricultural sector in the netherlands
and this is false advertising because many of the exported agricultural products are first imported
from other countries including some countries with low wages where all kinds of farming techniques
are used instead of the high-tech methods used in the netherlands subsidies as well as high tariffs
on cheap food from developing countries keeps the european union agricultural sector profitable
okay a big chunk of agricultural exports include inedible products such as flowers which are also
partly imported from other countries and traded through the netherlands however the country is the
european union's largest meat exporter with veal and beef exports to germany poultry to the united
kingdom and pork to china the dutch can produce more inexpensive pork for china than the chinese
could produce in their own country other important exports are dairy and some vegetables such high
agricultural exports are based on the value and not by volume they have access to high-paying
countries where quality premium price products could be sold there are many other contributing
factors that leads to the agricultural success such as the logistics warehouses and distribution
network and an ideal port at the crossroads of europe with access to large markets that's right
transport is also comparatively inexpensive and a homogenous trade block also helps
if you don't have all these benefits you cannot be as successful as the netherlands even if you try
to adopt all the fancy equipment and techniques the dutch agricultural sector is utilizing
the netherlands is playing with a new theory named donut economics by kate ralworth who
suggests thinking beyond the traditional economics of infinite growth the theory is
advocating to rise everyone to sufficiency while lowering unsustainable consumption
it sounds more like a proposition for a better management system than a new economic theory
which it is desperately trying to become packaged into fancy catchwords and morality
well we are off to hit some coffee shops but dunked for watching the video we will try to
reply to everyone in the comments section below that was really beautiful very informative uh
based off of what i've i've heard in this video i think the netherlands are doing pretty darn good
uh economy wise so hats off to y'all man i don't have a hat but hats off to you guys man
but uh i think you guys are doing pretty well so keep that up man it's mad love when you
you know a country it's uh that's it's really inspirational what you guys have
done in terms of a lot of things right so shout out to all you folks man um i don't really care
how you guys got there i'm just happy that you guys are there so all that negativity that i've
been hearing you know people say about the netherlands and such and such and such man
all that's in the past and you guys are not doing that now so that's what's important
but either ways man i'm out of here thanks for being here at 400 reacts man peace