The road less travelled - NZIER Insight 59
May 24, 2016
The announcement that central government is prepared to fund the construction of Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) has, once again, placed the issue of how to pay for infrastructure onto the public policy agenda. Read more
How would you spend a half-billion dollars on arts, culture and heritage? NZIER Insight 58
February 2, 2016
The government spends a half billion dollars on arts, culture and heritage each year but has little indication of what the public actually wants from public expenditure. At present mainly 'experts' decide what cultural goods and services should be supplied from the public purse. Read more
Time to reassess inflation targeting - NZIER Inisght 57
December 1, 2015
For over a generation, inflation targeting has been successful in managing inflation without reducing economic growth. But the economic environment is changing. No longer does the Reserve Bank need to lift rates to reduce demand. Today the Reserve Bank needs to deal with supply shocks … Read more
New travel charge borderline at best - NZIER Insight 56
November 26, 2015
The Government wants to make travellers pay for the costs of border control but the border charge is a poor user charge and an inefficient tax: it will dampen services exports and hence economic growth more than other revenue raising options. If we need additional border control it wo … Read more
Robot nation? The impact of disruptive technologies on Kiwis - NZIER Insight 55
October 21, 2015
The pace of technological change is accelerating and the upcoming wave of automation may impact jobs and societies as much as occurred in the industrial revolution. That’s one finding of a new research paper produced for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) by the N … Read more
TPP an impressive achievement - NZIER Insight 54
October 6, 2015
Today’s announcement that the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) has been concluded is good news for Kiwi firms and households. It’s not perfect, and the dairy sector in particular will naturally be frustrated. But TPP offers valuable benefits – and limited costs – across the e … Read more
El Niño: don't scare the cows - NZIER Insight 53
September 22, 2015
This summer will be a scorcher. MetService is forecasting the most severe El Niño in over 20 years. Past El Niño events have hit farmers hard and tipped New Zealand into recession. But farming today is not the farming of yesteryear and we need to examine local conditions one region at … Read more
Speed dating central bank style - NZIER Insight 52
September 1, 2015
From next year, the Reserve Bank will let go one chance each year to meet and set interest rates. That means the Reserve Bank could easily fall behind the run rate on the interest rate settings required to manage the economy. The Reserve Bank is also tweaking when they meet to try and … Read more
Sitting down on the job - NZIER Insight 51
July 31, 2015
New Zealand is now one of the most obese countries in the world. The impact on our health comes with substantial economic costs. A range of factors are known to be important, with changes in diet being fingered as one of the culprits. Another less obvious factor is that the economic t … Read more
Trans-Tasman relationship close, but could be closer - NZIER Inisght 50
February 25, 2015
New Zealand and Australia share many things: a tariff-free border, a free labour market, joint institutions, hosting rights to the Cricket World Cup 2015 (go the Black Caps!) and a mutual distaste for English rugby. Ahead of the 10th Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum in Auckland … Read more