ABSTRACT
In this chapter we shall turn our attention again to the policy adopted by the Dutch Cabinet to compensate for the reduction in the oil supply. We pick up the thread early in November, when the first restrictive measures were introduced to limit oil use. Throughout the course of November, assessments in The Hague of the consequences of the Arab oil actions became increasingly gloomy. This pessimism reached its peak at the end of the month when the possibility of a future reduction in the oil supply of some 40 to 50% was being discussed, even at the level of the Council of Ministers. In addition, the Dutch Central Planning Bureau was predicting that the oil embargo would lead to growing unemployment and to inflation.
