Economics for local government

The economic toolkit is valuable across the spectrum of local government activity, from assessing the impacts of local government proposals through to identifying future trends in your community and region.

The recent passing of the Local Government Bill will increase both opportunities and accountabilities for local government bodies.  On one hand, the Bill seeks to provide greater flexibility for local government, by moving away from the prescriptive approach in the current Local Government Act.  On the other hand, the Bill increases consultation and accountability requirements on local governments, with its new emphasis on outcomes and empowering communities.

We can help with:

• Strategic planning.
• Public policy analysis and implementation.
• Governance and structure.
• Cost-benefit analysis.
• Economic impact analysis.
• Social, demographic and economic research and analysis.
• Community consultation.
• Economic development.
• Innovation and risk management.
• In-house training and development.

We have:

• Produced long-term economic projections for the combined Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga District Councils. These projections, which go out 20 to 50 years, show the likely future structure of the regional economy, and provide a useful framework within which to assess regional development policies.
• Undertaken similar forecasts of economic activity in the Auckland, Taranaki and Manawatu regions.