Good Neighbours: Germany and the Netherlands

All OECD Member States are confronted with a number of important structural changes. These common changes include: the internationalisation of the economies, the advances in information and communication technology, and the ageing of the population and the labour force. There are many definitions of internationalisation in use. A broad definition is: “the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across borders” (Holm and Soerensen 1995, p. 1). Partly internationalisation is the result of a purposeful policy to lift barriers on international trade and capital flows. The new information and communication technologies also intensify and facilitate the internationalisation process. The third common change, the ageing of populations creates considerable pressure on the financing of social programmes. While expenditure on social programmes is rising due to the ageing of populations, the number of working age people will be growing only slowly or declining. A consequential fiscal crisis has to be prevented.