Economic and Social Portrait of Luxembourg NOTES
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Economic and social portrait of Luxembourg NOTES 1. This publication is being released at a time 2. In this “economic and social” portrait, par- when great uncertainty regarding the global ticular emphasis has been placed on compara- situation is weighing heavily on Luxembourg’s tive aspects, which should make it possible to economic prospects. There has been a marked position Luxembourg’s economic development change in climate in Luxembourg. GDP growth in relation to other European countries. As (in volume) fell from 8.9 % in 2000 to 1 % in there is often a two-to-three year delay in pub- 2001. At the time of publication, STATEC fore- lication of the comparative and harmonised casts are banking on GDP growth of 0.5 % for statistics by EUROSTAT and the OECD, many 2002 and 2 % for 2003. In this document, it has comparative tables and charts relate to the not been possible to carry out a detailed analy- year 2000, and in some cases 1999. As regards sis of the impact of this current decline on the comparative statistics, the document Luxembourg’s economy, especially as the sta- deliberately confines itself to structural social tistical data for 2002 is still incomplete. In fact, and economic indicators relating to 2001 is the most recent year included in most Luxembourg’s economy and society which are of the charts and tables. The publication deals unlikely to be deeply affected by short-term mainly with the development of economic changes. structures since 1985. Recent economic events are referred to only where they represent changes likely to affect future developments. NOTES 1 IMPRESSUM Publishing manager : Robert WEIDES Chief editor and general coordination: Paul ZAHLEN Authors : Ferdy ADAM Zulmiro DA COSTA Jean LANGERS Guy SCHULLER Paul ZAHLEN Technical coordination: Guy ZACHARIAS Design and layout : Today’s Ink Translation : Euroscript Printing : Offset SCIE This publication has been produced with the support of Luximage (Information and Press Service of the Luxembourg Government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Central Service for Statistics and Economic Studies b.p. 304 L-2013 Luxembourg E-mail : [email protected] Internet : www.statec.lu ISBN : 2-87988-049-1 March 2003 Copies are authorised provided the source is mentioned. 2 IMPRESSUM SUMMARY Notes 1 Impressum 2 Summary 3 Foreword 5 Introduction 6 CHAPTER 1 – RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1.1. Growth of the Luxembourg economy 20 1.2. Factors of growth and competitiveness 34 CHAPTER 2 – ECONOMIC STRUCTURES 2.1 Residential population, working population and employment 62 2.2. Productive structure 78 2.2.1. From industrial economy to service economy: an overview 79 2.2.1.1. Radical and rapid changes 79 2.2.1.2. End result: an economy largely dominated by services 83 2.2.1.3. Dynamic sectors and sectors in relative decline 85 2.2.1.4. Imposed changes and intentional changes 95 2.2.1.5. A diversified economy, despite the financial sector’s dominance 100 2.2.2. Spotlights 105 2.2.2.1.The financial sector: the heart of the Luxembourg economy 105 2.2.2.2. Information technology, business services and leisure businesses: job creators 121 2.2.2.3.Transport and communications: emergence of telecommunications and air transport 127 2.2.2.4. A diversified, high-performance industrial sector 134 2.3. External economic relations 144 CHAPTER 3 – SOCIAL SYSTEM 3.1.Wages and salaries 154 3.2. Standard of living and living conditions 164 3.3 Social security 182 Bibliography 189 Abbreviations 191 Index 191 SUMMARY 3 S DK GB PL NL D B Grand Duchy of Luxembourg TCH A F CH I E 4 FOREWORD Over the past few years, scientific analysis of the economic and social development of Luxembourg has expanded, thanks to the setting up of appropriate (yet improvable) structures, whether at STATEC, the Central Bank of Luxembourg, the University (Applied Economics Research Unit - CREA and Statistics and Decisions Unit - STADE) or CEPS/INSTEAD.This has resulted in a pro- fusion of publications, aimed mostly at a specialist readership. This “economic and social portrait” of Luxembourg fulfils the need to provide the general public with a résumé, summarising structural developments over recent years. Whereas the “economic portrait” published in 1995 tended to juxtapose the fields or subjects dealt with, this new version aims to reveal links and interaction. The first chapter features an overview of recent economic development as well as factors of growth and competitiveness and explains how these factors fit together. The second part provides a more detailed description of changes in the fields of demography, employment, the productive structure and external eco- nomic relations, with “spotlights”on certain important or “buoyant”sectors such as financial serv- ices, transport and communications and business services. The recent emergence of the concept of “sustainable development” clearly shows that economic, social and environmental issues are closely linked. Also, “human development” cannot be under- stood very well purely from the aggregates of national accounts. Therefore, the chapter on social conditions has been filled out and expanded to take account of environmental data in particular. Generally speaking, a country’s peculiarities and specificities can be revealed only through a com- parative approach. In a globalised world, an economy must constantly determine its position in relation to other countries and regions with a comparable level of development. This publication contains numerous indicators that should enable the reader to see where Luxembourg stands in this comparison, especially with regard to its competitiveness and attractiveness. At the start of the 21st century, Luxembourg’s economy and society are facing a new turn. The remarkable growth from 1985 to 2000 has given way to lower levels of economic progress, and it’s impossible to say, on publication of this document, whether this is simply a temporary swing or whether we are heading for a prolonged period of reduced growth. The “economic and social por- trait” gives a general picture which will, we trust, be widely accessible. It shows the key elements of the strengths and weaknesses with which Luxembourg is facing the new challenges. Robert Weides Director of STATEC FOREWORD 5 Introduction 6 INTRODUCTION Luxembourg can currently claim one of the highest standards of living in the world. In 2001, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per inhabitant was approximately EUR 48 700, compared with EUR 39 400 in the United States and EUR 23 200 on average among the 15 EU countries. The GDP per inhabitant certainly isn’t the only or the most reliable instrument for measuring the standard of living and well-being. Nevertheless, these figures reflect a very favourable economic situation.The route taken by Luxembourg to reach this level has been far from straight. An eventful history We will limit ourselves to a brief outline of economic development from the beginning of the 20th century. A glance at the table showing the average annual GDP growth rate and the population growth rate gives some idea of the cycles the Luxembourg economy has been through during this period. Average annual real growth rate in GDP and in resident population (in %) GDP Population 1900-1913 … 1.0 1913-1951 1.6 0.3 1953-1975 3.9 0.8 1975-1985 2.3 0.2 1985-2002 5.3 1.2 Source: STATEC. N.B. For the years prior to 1950, the statistical bases are very modest, so the GDP growth figure from 1913 to 1951 gives an approximate indication. The years preceding the First World War Sustained growth in the steel industry marked the years preceding the First World War.This indus- trial sector, based on the iron ore deposits located in the south of the country, is rooted in the lat- ter half of the 19th century. However, it was the construction - during the two decades preceding the First World War - of the large integrated steelworks (such as Differdange and Belval) that were able to convert cast iron into steel and then rolled steel on the same site, which was crucial to the subsequent development of this economic sector. Some of these investments were made possible thanks to German capital. The production of rolled steel rose from 145 313 t. in 1900 to 1 115 004 t. in 1913 and steel-making accounted for around 60 % of total industrial employment before the First World War. The population grew rapidly, rising from 211 088 in 1890 to 235 954 in 1900 and 259 891 in 1910. So over a twenty-year period, it increased by nearly 50 000, while during the previous two decades (1870-1890) there had only been a rise of some 13 500.The population increase went hand in hand with a concentration of the population in the City of Luxembourg and in the Canton of Esch (the mining and steel area).Whereas in 1880, 11.4 % of the total population lived in the Canton of Esch, the proportion reached more than 26 % in 1910. The City of Luxembourg and the Canton of Esch shared 45 % of the total population on the eve of the First World War, compared with under 26 % in 1880. The demographic growth was due in particular to a wave of immigration (first Germans and then Italians) associated with the strong demand for labour in the steel industry and iron mines. The proportion of foreigners in the total population practically doubled over 20 years, increasing from INTRODUCTION 7 Residential population 1875 - 2001 450 000 400 000 350 000 300 000 250 000 200 000 150 000 100 000 50 000 0 1981 1875 1991 1935 1910 1922 1947 1970 1930 1880 2001 1990 1960 1900 Total Luxembourgers Foreigners Source: STATEC (population censuses) 8.5 % in 1890 to 15.3 % in 1913.