The Dutch economy may well decline more sharply than the 0.75% forecast by the government’s macro-economic think tank CPB, central bank president Nout Wellink said on NOS radio.

‘If you look at the crisis in the early 1970s and how fast the economy slowed down, then we could be in for more,’ Wellink said. ‘And in that case, the CPB’s estimate of minus 0.75% too cautious,’ he said.
In addition, it would take longer than people thought for the economy to recover. ‘We will be in 2010 before things begin to recover,’ he said.
It was now important that everyone worked together to make sure unemployment did not increase, the central bank president said.