What CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis does

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (legal name: Centraal Planbureau) is a Dutch government research institute founded in 1945 and headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It operates under the statutory mandate of the Wet houdbare overheidsfinanciën (Law on Sustainable Public Finances), which tasks it with producing independent economic forecasts and analyses for the Dutch government, parliament, Members of Parliament, trade unions, and employer organizations. The institute employs approximately 201 staff and conducts analysis both on its own initiative and upon request, covering macroeconomic forecasting, policy evaluation, budget impact analysis, election program analysis, and long-term scenario planning.

CPB's core product set combines recurring flagship publications — the Centraal Economisch Plan (CEP), Macro Economische Verkenning (MEV), World Trade Monitor, and medium-term projections to 2034 — with a proprietary modeling stack built around Saffier 3.0, a web-accessible macroeconomic model of the Dutch economy, alongside the global trade model WorldScan and other computational general equilibrium models. A dedicated Data Science Team overlays machine-learning "side-light models" on these foundations, integrating CBS (Statistics Netherlands) microdata to predict macroeconomic time series and study equality of opportunity and risk distribution, with active research into causal inference robustness using AI methods.

The institute's business model is government appropriation under the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, with no commercial pricing. All publications are distributed free of charge via cpb.nl under a Creative Commons BY 3.0 NL license; there are no subscriptions, paid tiers, or print distribution. Marketing and distribution run entirely through digital channels — website, email newsletter, social media (Facebook, Twitter), press releases, CPB Lectures, and video/podcast content — targeting institutional users (government, parliament, social partners) and the broader research community.

Name

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis

Legal name

Centraal Planbureau

Website

https://cpb.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis is a Dutch government research institute founded in 1945 that produces independent economic forecasts and policy analyses for the Dutch government, parliament, and social partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Policy Analysis & Forecasting

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130)

SIC

Foreign Governments (8888)

akta.pro primary industry

Budgeting & Fiscal Planning (BPAIAEAA)

Keywords

• Economic policy analysis
• Macroeconomic forecasting
• Policy impact evaluation
• Government research services
• Applied economic modeling

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: CPB is a government organization (overheidsorganisatie) funded by the Dutch government. The organization conducts economic policy analyses both on its own initiative and upon request from the government, parliament, Members of Parliament, trade unions, and employer organizations. All publications are freely available under Creative Commons license.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (Centraal Planbureau) is a Dutch government research institute that produces independent economic forecasts, policy analyses, and budget impact assessments for the Dutch government, parliament, and social partners. It publishes flagship economic forecasts such as the Centraal Economisch Plan (CEP), Macro Economische Verkenning (MEV), and World Trade Monitor, and maintains proprietary macroeconomic models including Saffier 3.0 and WorldScan. All publications are provided free of charge under a Creative Commons license.

Product overview

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis operates as an economic policy research institute rather than a commercial product company. Its core offerings consist of economic forecasting models (Saffier 3.0), regular economic publications (CEP, MEV), and specialized analyses across themes including labor, taxes, climate, healthcare, and macro-economics. The Data Science team applies machine learning techniques to enhance macroeconomic predictions using CBS microdata. The portfolio includes the World Trade Monitor for international trade data and medium-term outlook projections. All publications are freely available under Creative Commons licensing as CPB is a government organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Saffier 3.0 A web-based macro-economic model for the Dutch economy that allows users to perform their own calculations and simulations for policy analysis. It is operated by CPB for policymakers, researchers, and analysts interested in Dutch economic policy.
• Centraal Economisch Plan (CEP) Annual economic forecast and analysis publication providing a comprehensive outlook on the Dutch economy. It is consumed by the Dutch government, parliament, social partners, and the general public for fiscal and policy planning.
• Macro Economische Verkenning (MEV) Macro-economic projections and forecasts for the Dutch economy, published annually. It is the companion publication to the CEP, used for short-term fiscal and budgetary planning by the Dutch government.
• World Trade Monitor (Wereldhandelsmonitor) Data and analysis on world trade developments, providing timely information on international trade flows. It serves policymakers, analysts, and researchers monitoring global trade conditions.
• Actualisatie Verkenning middellange termijn Medium-term economic projections and scenario analyses for the Dutch economy up to 2034. It supports long-term fiscal and structural policy planning by the Dutch government.
• Data Science Team Analyses Research using machine learning and big data (CBS microdata) to enrich scientific and policy-oriented research with data science techniques, including macroeconomic forecasting and causal effect measurement. It is produced by CPB's Data Science team for policymakers and academic researchers.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1945CBS (Statistics Netherlands) provides CPB with research data and statistical information essential for economic analysis. CPB uses CBS microdata combined with machine learning techniques to study economic outcomes and policy effects.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Konjunkturinstitutet (National Institute of Economic Research, Sweden): Swedish government agency producing macroeconomic forecasts and policy analysis; structurally and functionally comparable to CPB as a Nordic government economic forecasting institute, though focused on Sweden.

Direct peers

• ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research: Germany's leading macroeconomic research institute, famous for the ifo Business Climate Index; comparable to CPB in providing independent economic analysis, surveys, and forecasting, though with a heavier academic and survey-based orientation.
• DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research): German economic research institute producing independent policy analysis and macroeconomic forecasting; comparable to CPB in mandate and methodological approach, and member of the same Leibniz Association research network as ifo.
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO): US nonpartisan agency providing budget and economic analysis to Congress; performs a near-equivalent role to CPB for the US federal government, producing independent forecasts and policy cost estimates.
• Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR): UK's independent fiscal watchdog producing economic and fiscal forecasts for the government; structurally the closest international analog to CPB, with a comparable statutory mandate to produce independent budget and macroeconomic analysis.
• INSEE (French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies): France's national statistics agency producing official economic statistics and macroeconomic analysis for government; comparable in government-affiliated status and national-economic forecasting role, though broader in scope to include statistics production.

Broad incumbents

• International Monetary Fund (IMF): Global institution conducting economic surveillance, Article IV consultations, and macroeconomic forecasts for member countries including the Netherlands; overlaps with CPB in providing independent country-level economic assessments.
• European Commission – DG ECFIN: EU-level body producing macroeconomic forecasts for member states, including the Netherlands, under the European Semester framework; competes with and complements CPB's national forecasting role from an EU policy perspective.
• OECD Economics Department: International organization producing cross-country economic analysis, country surveys, and forecasts; provides broader comparative macroeconomic analysis that complements — and sometimes overlaps with — the type of independent national-level work CPB does for the Netherlands.

Emerging players

• Bruegel: European think tank producing independent economic policy analysis with strong macroeconomic and fiscal focus; overlaps with CPB in analytical themes and European policy influence, but operates as a membership-funded think tank rather than a statutory government body.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CPB_NL
• Facebookfacebook.com/CPBNL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cpb-netherlands-bureau-for-economic-policy-analysis

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis