Import-adjusted breakdown of GDP growth

The new data series make it possible to produce import-adjusted break-downs of GDP growth. Imports can be allocated to the spending for which they are used, either directly or indirectly. For example, if households in the Netherlands buy more clothing, not all of that increase in consumption is counted as a contribution to the GDP of the Netherlands. The share of clothing (or the materials that are used to make it) that is imported is attributed to imports. Only domestic value added - such as value added by Dutch retailers, transport companies, and other service providers - contributes to GDP growth. This provides a clearer picture of how domestic spending and exports contribute to economic growth, corrected to take account of the relevant imports required.

The extent to which exports contribute to the economy depends on how much Dutch value added is embedded in exports of goods and services. The greater the share of value added in the Netherlands, the higher the contribution to GDP per euro of exports. Services exports include a relatively high share of value added in the Netherlands, on average, because fewer imports are generally required to produce these exports. In the case of goods re-exports, value added in the Netherlands is actually relatively low, because they are re-exported after little or no processing.