For the analyses in Chapters 2, 3, and 5 on the 22 Dutch metropolitan areas (see map B1 for their delineations), I have constructed my own dataset with data I was able to retrieve via the StatLine service of Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS). The dataset contains information on employment shares by industry, unemployment rates, immigrant shares, and relevant demographic characteristics for these areas. The maximum range of years goes from 1995 to 2007. Nevertheless, some variables were not available for this full period. Unfortunately, information on employment shares by industry from 2008 onwards cannot be compared to those shares up to 2008, due to differences in the measurement of economic activities. As a result, the most recent data that can be utilized for assessing both trends in employment shares in industries (Chapter 2), and the impact of those shares on unemployment (Chapters 3 and 5), relate to 2007.

The operationalization of the variables will be outlined below, and they are categorized according to the first chapter in which they appear. The descriptives of the variables can be found in Table B1.

Variables introduced in Chapter 2

Manufacturing – concerns the share of employment in the manufacturing employed in firms classified in Class D in the Dutch SBI 93 classification scheme (Standaard Bedrijfsindeling 1993). This scheme corresponds to the ‘ISIC Rev. 3.1’ (International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities) of the United Nations (data range 1995-2007).

Producer services – concerns the share of the working population that is employed in firms classified in Class J (finance) and Class K (real estate and producer services) in the Dutch SBI 93 classification scheme (data range 1995-2007).

Variables introduced in Chapter 3

Age 15-24 – concerns a variable that measures the share of the working population in the age category 15 to 24. It is used to control for non-labour market driven settlement patterns, such as the high share of students in university cities (data range 1995-2007).

Cultural industries – concerns the share of the working population that is employed in firms classified in Class O (recreational, cultural, and sporting activities) in the Dutch SBI 93 classification scheme. Accordingly, it indicates the extent to which an urban economy functions as an entertainment machine.