Marko J. van Leeuwen

The development of higher education students’ interest in their subject: the case of higher professional education in the Netherlands

Higher education students’ interest in their subject has been found to clearly decrease during the first year of their studies in the Netherlands. This decrease is much smaller for students in the second year, and even turns into an increase in higher years. The loss of interest after enrolment in higher education has also been found in longitudinal data. The drop in interest in school is a well‐known phenomenon in secondary education. This study reported in this article investigated whether the explanations found in the secondary education research can be translated to the situation of students in higher professional education. The analyses were performed using structural equation modelling. It was found that the difference in interest in the subject directly after enrolment, and in the second year, can be explained by lower integration of students in the study environment, and by other aspects of life that interfere with studying and with the motivation to study.

Comparative energy and environmental policy for the residential sector: applying Dutch standards to the UK housing stock

We analysed the effect of applying Dutch thermal efficiency standards of residential dwellings, conversion efficiency, appliance fuel mixes and appliance ownership rates, to the UK residential sector. We found that although aggregate energy consumption does not change significantly, pollution emissions are reduced significantly. Thus, the primary difference between housing and appliance stocks in the two regions is in terms of fuel mixes. However, improved thermal efficiency does allow for increased dwelling warmth without increasing emissions. Adapting Dutch standards in the UK would lead to a one-time improvement of the environmental situation, after which the trend is continued.

Fiscal policy and greenhouse gases: the case of the Netherlands

Abstract In the domain of environmental policy, the Dutch authorities have changed their course in the mid-1980s towards an integrated approach. As a result several reports and trends, in which policy recommendations are given for specific target groups and types and pollution, have been adopted. The objective of this paper is, therefore, twofold. First we sketch the background studies and the context of the discussion that took pplace in the Netherlands in the last decade. Then, we detail and assess actual policy measures taken or soon to be taken.

Temporary Jobs, Intermediate Positions or Jumping Boards; Searching for the Stepping-Stone Effect of Temporary Employment

A substantial share of the people currently employed on a temporary contract will be in regular jobs a year from now. A review of the literature shows that this is true for several European countries, except Spain. Spain is a country where researchers find segmentation on the labour market. In France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands temporary employment is often an intermediate position between unemployment and regular work. The fact that temporary work is often an intermediate position does not necessarily imply that temporary jobs serve as jumping boards towards regular employment. The intermediate temporary job might slow down the search for a regular job or even hinder it if employers regard having a temporary job as a negative signal of a workers ability. Duration analyses applied to Germany, the Netherlands and Italy lead to the conclusion that temporary jobs are indeed jumping boards, while in Spain no jumping board effect is found.

Consequences of harmonization of indirect taxes for Luxembourg

Abstract The European Commission has made several proposals and has implemented various measures to achieve a single European market. Some of these proposals concern the harmonization of value-added taxes (VAT) and excise duties. Despite the fact that the choice of the proposed level of the VAT and excise duty rates is based on the current situation in most of the EEC countries, there is much resistance against the proposals. Luxembourg fears that the proposals for indirect tax harmonization of the Commission will have a strong negative effect on its economy. Luxembourg resists the harmonization of indirect taxes mainly for fear of a deterioration of its price competitiveness (due to a wage-price spiral) and of the decline of nonresident consumption. In this article we try to quantify the effects of tax harmonization for Luxembourg with the use of a sectoral model. The first argument of Luxembourg against indirect tax harmonization seems to be unfounded. Even if the foreign price level declines, the substitution between Luxembourg goods and foreign goods are limited-at least in the short run. The second argument may be more convincing than the first. In the scenarios the increased excise duty rates on alcohol, petrol, and cigarettes are assumed to reduce the consumption of nonresidents of these products to nil and have, therefore, a clearly negative effect on the Luxembourg economy. However, the size of the decline in nonresident consumption is unknown and debatable. The consequences for the government receipts and the government budget are political. The indirect tax proceeds decrease, but the receipts from VAT and excise duties are not equal to these proceeds; for instance, the excise duties are levied jointly with Belgium.