] Date: Fri, 25th July, 1997
Source: The Scotsman, Edinburgh, UK
Contact: Netherlands adds UKP1 bn illegal earnings to official economy

The illegal earnings of drug dealers, prostitutes and gamblers has been 
included in the latest official figures on the Dutch economy.

According to a government report, approximately UKP1 billion is earned 
from drug dealing, UKP300 million from prostitution and UKP200 million 
from illegal gambling. The sale of stolen goods is believed to have 
contributed UKP56 million to the Dutch economy.

In total this represents 1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 
The Netherlands is the first country to officially publish its illegal 
earnings. "We were going to keep the figures quiet but somehow they got 
onto the Internet, so we decided to go public," a government spokesman 
said.

Other European countries are expected to investigate illegal earnings as 
a result of a ruling by the Commission of European Communities which 
states that in future all member countries must include illegal earning 
in their national accounts. Britain is preparing its figures on illegal 
earnings, but is likely to have a tougher time producing statistics than 
the Netherlands, which tolerates prostitution and soft drugs. Estimates 
were partly based on tax paid by prostitutes and the sale of cannabis in 
coffee shops.

Information on hard drugs was collected from health and social care 
agencies as well as the police. The annual income from the domestic 
consumption of the drug ecstasy totalled about UKP60 million. Export 
sales are estimated at UKP26 million.

Estimates on prostitution were based on PhD theses and essays. "It's a 
very popular theme for academics," said the report's author, Ron van der 
Werf. "The estimate did not include lingerie and other objects connected 
to the profession because they are registered under household 
consumption."

The Dutch government has every reason to feel cheered by other Treasury 
figures. The rate of economic growth for the Netherlands in 1996 turned 
out to be 3.3 per cent  the strongest increase in the Netherlands since 
1990. The rate of growth in the Netherlands is almost twice the average 
of the European Union as a whole (1.7 per cent) and the public sector 
deficit fell to 2.3 per cent.