Broad welfare increases, but regional disparities have grown

Broad welfare increases, but regional disparities have grown

Research on broad welfare Utrecht University and RaboResearch

The real wealth of a society is its citizens' wellbeing, Utrecht University researchers observed. They developed a broader method to measure people's welfare accordingly: the Better Well-being Index (BWI). Together with researchers from RaboResearch, they have been measuring how the Netherlands is doing every year since 2016. This year, they see a slight increase in the BWI, but regional differences have increased since 2013.

More factors affect welfare than economic growth

For years, to determine the well-being of the Dutch, the main factor considered was the size of the economy, measured by gross domestic product (GDP). To measure prosperity, BWI researchers look at eleven dimensions.

For instance, they include people's safety in their research, as well as environment, health, subjective well-being, work-life balance, housing, education, material prosperity, civic engagement, social relations, and jobs. Researcher Auke Rijpma: "Measures such as GDP or purchasing power cannot properly include many of these aspects, while we know that people consider them important."

Worrisome decline in educational attainment

The results show broad prosperity in the Netherlands increased in 2023, despite a slight decline in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Social engagement (volunteering and trust in others) and environmental quality (notably lower particulate emissions) improved, but personal development (education level) and housing satisfaction deteriorated.

In large cities, the problematic development of the housing market leads to lower housing satisfaction.

"Broad welfare had finally returned to 2019 levels by 2023," researcher Erik Stam explains. "Contrary to what the public debate suggests, the figures show an improvement in social structures and environment, but also a worrying decline in educational attainment and housing satisfaction." Regional differences do exist, and these differences are also increasing.

Higher broad wealth in areas where amenities and work are close by

The RaboResearch report states that regions with high broad prosperity combine a pleasant living environment with the proximity of facilities and work in the cities. Compared to the average in the Netherlands, people in these regions are happier, more socially engaged, safer, and more satisfied with their homes.

Researcher Floris Jan Sander of RaboResearch: "Broad prosperity is highest from the Greater Amsterdam area, extending eastwards through Utrecht and Gelderland to Twente, and northwards as far as Friesland. In metropolitan areas, broad prosperity lags behind. In Agglomeration The Hague, Greater Rijnmond, and Greater Amsterdam, broad welfare is lower."

At the periphery of the Netherlands, broad welfare lags behind

According to Erik Stam, the lower broad welfare is mainly due to lower scores on the housing dimension and - to a lesser extent - on the safety dimension.

"Cities are engines of the economy, but also centres of crime and pollution. Most concretely, the problematic development of the housing market, with increasing scarcity and ever higher prices, leads to lower housing satisfaction, especially in the big cities. In addition, we also see that on the margins of the Netherlands, such as in South Limburg and Delfzijl and its surroundings, broad wealth is lagging behind."

Learn more about broad prosperity

Strategic theme Institutions for Open Societies has been publishing the Broad Prosperity Indicator (BWI) since 2016, in collaboration with RaboResearch. The BWI team consists of researchers from five faculties. Find more information about broad prosperity and everything organised around this topic here.