The State of the Nation

Toespraak | 28-04-2011

Ladies and gentlemen,

Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, once said ‘No less than war or statecraft, the history of economics has its heroic ages.’ Perhaps a heroic age is starting here today.

Let me begin by thanking Sandra Phlippen for publishing a special edition of the economics journal ESB on entrepreneurship. It will support our policy of stimulating the further growth of enterprise in the Netherlands – in terms of both quantity and, above all, quality. I will return to this point later.

But first I want to congratulate ACE, the Amsterdam Center for Entrepreneurship which is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The centre has proven itself a major pillar supporting the development of enterprise in the Netherlands. Congratulations too on organising this conference, enabling policymakers, academics and businesspeople to take part in a fascinating exchange. I will take the outcome on board in developing my policy further.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The theme of this conference is ‘the state of the nation’. And that is also the theme of my speech. The economy is growing again, though less quickly than we are used to, and certainly less quickly than we would like. Yet there is good reason for taking a positive view of the state of the nation.

Enterprise keeps our economy afloat. That is why entrepreneurs play such a central role in government policy. We have identified three main spearheads to ensure that our economy keeps on growing:

• first, we want to give entrepreneurs more room to do business, by scrapping regulations and reducing the administrative burden;
• second, we will stimulate innovation through increased cooperation between business, the research world and government, and
• third, we plan to focus more on the nine top sectors in which we excel, and which can drive growth in other sectors.

The good news is that the business climate in the Netherlands has improved by leaps and bounds. Ten years ago, we were bringing up the rear. We are now in a better position than ever before. In the past few years, this country has quietly undergone an entrepreneurial revolution.

Let me give you some facts and figures. Now, one in eight working people earns their living as an entrepreneur. Relatively speaking, we are more enterprising in the Netherlands than in the United States. This silent revolution presents our economy with opportunities. It has led to a more dynamic labour market, with higher participation, and more job opportunities – including for people with less promising prospects.

We need enterprise in order to meet society’s challenges – now and in the future. With their creativity and ingenuity [ɪndʒəˈnjuːəti = the ability to solve problems in new and clever ways], entrepreneurs can play a far greater role than government in seeking solutions to issues like demographic ageing, sustainability and scarcity of raw materials. That is why I am pleased to see that entrepreneurship has growing public appeal.

And there is more good news. Both EIM Business and Policy Research and the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, the CPB, agree that government policy over the past few years has played a major part in this success story. The EIM shows that two kinds of measures have stimulated enterprise in recent years:

• first, deregulation and reduction of the administrative burden;
• second, financial and fiscal measures.

These measures have enabled us to bring about a real sea change in the first ten years of the 21st century. From a culture of employees to a culture of entrepreneurs. Clearly, entrepreneurship has been unleashed.

The CPB reaches the same conclusion and identifies some major shifts. The job of independent insurance adviser has virtually disappeared, while women are increasingly working as entrepreneurs in the worlds of culture and commerce. Demographic ageing is another important reason for the growth of independent enterprise.

So should we be resting on our laurels? Of course not. If we do, we will soon fall behind again. As happened to the hare in the fable of the hare and the tortoise. What is more, the figures I have just cited tell us nothing about the quality of Dutch entrepreneurship. That is where we need to focus our efforts.

Relatively few Dutch entrepreneurs have had a higher education. Graduates are in fact becoming less and less inclined to set up their own businesses. But, as the ESB special edition shows, in other countries successful entrepreneurs are often graduates: just 12% of the workforce, but 62% of the most successful independent business leaders.

What’s more, we have very few fast growers in the Netherlands. The main cause, as EIM studies show, is Dutch entrepreneurs’ lack of ambition. Better to be your own boss than to be responsible for a large company.

Ladies and gentlemen,

My conclusion is that we should aim for better, more ambitious entrepreneurs instead of more of the same. How are we going to achieve that? For example by focusing more on entrepreneurship in the classroom, so that young people gain the right attitudes, knowledge and skills as part of their education. In that way, we will be laying the basis for successful enterprise in the future.

What is more, there is a direct link between entrepreneurs’ educational level and the success of their businesses. If you consider that a large percentage of the generation that is now growing up will probably be self-employed at some stage in their career, you will understand how important a good education is.

That is why I am also pleased that this conference is focusing extra attention on the young, ambitious entrepreneurs in this country. I understand that you met a few inspiring examples this morning.

I am now drafting an action plan to help fast growers and young, ambitious entrepreneurs move forward. I want small and medium-sized enterprises and one-man businesses to have more opportunities to bid for government contracts. For that reason, I have tightened up various provisions in the new Public Procurement Act.

The government is going to make more active use of its procurement budget to encourage innovation. The new Innovation Fund will play an important role. The idea is that successful innovations will pay for themselves, enabling new initiatives to be funded.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Looking at the state of the nation, we can conclude that we are on the right path. This government believes in the strength of entrepreneurs. We want to build on their strengths, and contribute to a prosperous and sustainable society. That is why we are doing all we can to propel our entrepreneurs forward, and to smooth the path towards sustainable growth.

Henry Ford, the American car manufacturer, once said ‘If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own’. I couldn’t agree more.

In fact, that would be a good message for this conference. We can see that government policy on entrepreneurs is working. But if we want to excel on the world market, benefit from growing world trade and from emerging markets, and achieve sustainable economic growth, we will have to work together. And we will have to take account of each other’s needs and interests. That is what this government is doing by putting entrepreneurs at the heart of policy.

Thank you.