KiwiSaver and the wealth of New Zealanders : NZIER perspective on the joint agency evaluation report
August 25, 2015
Since its inception in 2007, KiwiSaver has become by far the most widely-held voluntary private savings vehicle in New Zealand. There are now over 2.5 million individual members in the scheme, and three-quarters of the population aged 18 to 64 are members. Prior to the introduction of … Read more
Hi ho silver lining? What firms need to think about as New Zealand ages
March 26, 2013
As the population ages, a number of economic trends will emerge that put pressure on profits. On the cost side, an increase in competition for skilled workers will push wages up. Revenue will also be affected as demand shifts in favour of products that older people use and consume. Th … Read more
Golden years? The impacts of New Zealand's ageing on wages, interest rates, wealth and macroeconomy
March 1, 2013
New Zealand is ageing. The number of old people will increase three-fold and will soon comprise a very large segment of society. Ageing will shrink the labour supply relative to the size of the population and the existing supply of capital. That has implications for wages and interest … Read more
Commit to quit : control the devil in your future -NZIER Insight 35
May 18, 2012
Breaking an addiction is difficult: only about 3% of smokers who go cold turkey manage to successfully quit. New research by behavioural economists shows that getting people to make a financial bet on their success could lift those rates by over half again. Economists at NZIER think i … Read more
Grow for it : how population policies can promote economic growth
January 27, 2012
New Zealand struggles to grow its economy partially due to its small size and remote location. There is little that can be done to change location, but the size can be increased over time. It is feasible to adopt a population policy with the aim of the population reaching 15 million i … Read more
Is Working for Families working for families? NZIER Insight 27
April 1, 2011
Working for Families (WFF) was introduced between 2004 and 2007 to "make work pay" and ensure income adequacy for families with children. The policy has reduced child poverty, drawn an extra 8,100 sole parents into some paid work, encouraged more of them to work 20 hours or more, and … Read more
Something for nothing - NZIER Insight 9
December 9, 2009
Why work for zero pay? That's what more than one million New Zealanders actively involved in volunteering do. People do not normally supply their time and effort (outside their family) without being paid. So volunteers are clearly motivated by something other than pay. Understanding t … Read more