Is carnival worth the money?

For some it’s just a regular Monday following a regular weekend – but for others, this is the time of year they’ve been waiting for: carnival. A time for dressing up, celebrating, singing, dancing and bonding. Everything but working.

What does it cost us? And: is it worth it? In this episode of De Rekenkamer (KRO), professor of applied econometrics Philip Hans Franses calculates what the Dutch economy is missing out on because of these partygoers.

The average Dutch person contributes about 100 euros a workday to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If one and a half million people skip work on Monday and Tuesday, our economy would be missing out on 300 million euros. 

The mayor becomes the farmer - and vice versa

Is it worth it? According to Mark van Ostaijen, PhD-candidate at the Faculty of Social Sciences (EUR) carnival has an important function in relation to the (working) roles we play every day of our lives. 

In this article he says that 'the mayor dressing up as a farmer and the other way around' allows us to play with the roles we fulfill in society. 'It levels out the social distance that normally exists.’ Instead of putting on a mask, you take it off. And that's a valueable asset that's hard to express in numbers. 

Sources: De Rekenkamer, BN DeStem

If you like this article, you might also be interested in these:

• INTERVIEW WITH VAN OSTAIJEN