By the end of the nineteenth century Belgium was enjoying considerable economic success. However, the economic experience has proved significantly less stable in the twentieth century.The Belgian Economy in the Twentieth Century offers a detailed study of one of the small economies constituting the Benelux group. Professor Andre Mommen describes and analyses the changing fortunes of the Belgian economy throughout this century. He traces the Belgian experience from the state regulation of the interwar period to its current difficulties.Central to the discussion is the innate problem of Belgian dependence on international trade due to the country's small domestic market. Professor Mommen places this examination within its political context by confronting the problems which have arisen since the first oil crisis and the effect they have had on Belgian politics and society.This volume explains how a small but industrialized European nation succeeded in preserving its competitiveness only to succumb to a devastating debt crisis in the last decade. The Belgian experience as discussed in The Belgian Economy in the Twentieth Century perfectly illustrates the volatility of European economic trends this century.