Dutch disease

British  

noun

1. the deindustrialization of an economy as a result of the discovery of a natural resource, as that which occurred in Holland with the exploitation of North Sea Oil, which raised the value of the Dutch currency, making its exports uncompetitive and causing its industry to decline

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Example Sentences

There are growing fears that this may be evidence of a phenomenon economists call "Dutch disease" – where abundant natural resources drive up a country's exchange rate so far that other industries are crowded out.

From The Guardian • Jun. 15, 2013

Economic analysis has mostly diagnosed Canada with some level of Dutch disease.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2012

“There is a risk of a Dutch disease effect,” he added, referring to the Netherlands’s experience of a surge in growth in its energy industry that drove up the currency and hurt manufacturing.

From BusinessWeek • Mar. 3, 2011

It has been important for the Norwegian government to avoid Dutch disease by not spending too much.

From Newsweek • Apr. 22, 2010

The high number of disabled--more than three times the number of officially unemployed--is such a stubborn feature of the economy that it's been called the Dutch disease.

From Time Magazine Archive