Exit, voice and loyalty in the Netherlands

Native Dutch are emigrating from the Netherlands in surprisingly large numbers. This column shows that most Dutch emigrants are choosing to exit due to dissatisfaction with the quality of the public domain, particularly high population density. Is their exit a vote of no confidence in the Dutch government?

Intended and Unintended Consequences of a Publish-or-Perish Culture: A Worldwide Survey

Abstract: How does publication pressure in modern-day universities affect the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in science? By using a worldwide survey among demographers in developed and developing countries, we show that the large majority perceive the publication pressure as high, but more so in Anglo-Saxon countries and to a lesser extent in Western Europe. However, scholars see both the pros (upward mobility) and cons (excessive publication and uncitedness, neglect of policy issues, etc.) of the so-called “publish-or-perish” culture. By measuring behavior in terms of reading and publishing, and perceived extrinsic rewards and stated intrinsic rewards of practicing science, it turns out that publication pressure negatively affects the orientation of demographers towards policy and knowledge of the population facts. There are no signs that the pressure affects reading and publishing outside the core discipline.Incentives;productivity;science;publications;university

Invisible barriers in international labour migration: The case of the Netherlands

Why is labour mobility in the European Union so low? To shed light on this issue we focus and examine international labour migration intentions of the Dutch potential labour force. A key characteristic of intended labour migration of the Dutch is that its low level and the fact that it is strongly age related. The low expected rate of migration can be traced to expectations about finding work abroad and the perception that foreign experience is not perceived to be valued by Dutch employers. In addition to this it appears that partners within a household carry a large weight in deciding to move. If one of the partners is against moving, emigration will not take place.labour mobility;migration;identity

Emigration of the Dutch and their search of the "good life"

For the first time since the 1950s the Netherlands is experiencing an emigration wave. A large-scale survey on the determinants of emigration has shown that most Dutch emigrants are in search of the good life: space, nature, peace and quiet and friendly people. Two years after having stated their intention to emigrate, 24 percent had actually left the Netherlands.

Unraveling the age-productivity nexus: Confronting perceptions of employers and employees

What determines the perceived productivity of young and older workers? In this study we present evidence for (Dutch) employers and employees. By confronting the perceptions of employers and employees some remarkable similarities and differences are revealed. It turns out that productivity perceptions are biased by the age group to which one belongs and the position in the hierarchy in the organization. The young favor the young, the old favor the old and employers discount productivity compared to employees. However, there are also remarkable similarities across employer and employees. By distinguishing the various underlying dimensions of productivity of young and older workers we tested whether ‘soft’ skills and abilities within the organization are just as important as the ‘hard’ dimensions - cognitive and physically based skills - in the eye of employers and employees. It appears that employers and employees weight the soft and the hard dimensions of skills in a uniform way: hard skills are far more important than soft skills no matter whether the worker is old or young. By sharing the stereotypical images the problem of age discrimination may therefore not only be due to employers’ behaviors and attitudes, but also due to those of employees.aging;stereotypes;productivity;employers

Pensioenmigranten op zoek naar het Zwitserleven

Pensioenmigratie spreekt tot de verbeelding.Nederlandse werknemers worden bijna dagelijks gebombardeerd met beelden en stereotypen van pensioenmigranten.In het verleden verbeeldden acteurs als Kees Brusse en Huub Stapel het uiteindelijke doel van onze spaarcenten:Zwitserland of anders wel een tropisch eiland.Maar is het wel een massaal fenomeen en als mensen vertrekken,waar gaan ze dan uiteindelijk naar toe?

When is fertility too low or too high?:Population policy preferences of demographers around the world

When does fertility in a country become so low or so high that a government needs to intervene? This paper sheds light on this population policy question, based on a worldwide survey among demographers. We examine how professionals’ policy preferences regarding fertility levels are affected by their views on the impacts of population growth/decline and by fertility in their country of residence. The median respondent suggests intervention once fertility goes below 1.4 children or above 3.0. Three results stand out: first, demographers who are concerned about the carrying capacity of the earth are more willing to intervene than those who are less concerned. Second, the context of decision-making matters: experts living in high-fertility countries are more set on intervention than those living in low-fertility countries, but their threshold fertility level is also higher. Third, political orientation matters: right-leaning demographers are more set on government intervention than left-leaning demographers