Dutch Disease

The term “Dutch disease” originates from a crisis in the Netherlands in the 1960s that resulted from discoveries of vast natural gas deposits in the North Sea. The new found wealth caused the Dutch guilder to rise, making exports of all non-oil products less competitive on the world market.Today the term is used in the context of exchange rates,to refer to the negative consequences arising from large increases in a country’s foreign currency inflows including – foreign direct investment, foreign indirect investment,foreign aid etc in addition to the ill effects on non-resource industries a by the increase in wealth generated by the resource-based industries.  Read more of this post