We combine firm-level innovation data with area-level Census data to examine the relationship between local workforce characteristics, especially the presence of immigrants and local skills, and the likelihood of innovation by firms. We examine a range of innovation outcomes, and test the...

This paper investigates the relationship between individual labour market outcomes, household income and expenditure, and inequality and poverty in New Zealand using detailed data from the 1983/84 – 2003/04 Household Economic Survey (HES). We begin by discussing and summarising measures of...

The 1990s saw a significant sell-off of state houses in New Zealand, while the 2000s saw a material rebuilding of the state house inventory. We provide in-depth documentation of a rich spatially-defined dataset of the stock, acquisition and disposal of New Zealand’s state houses since the...

This paper uses data from the Survey of Family, Income and Employment (SoFIE) to estimate household saving in New Zealand between 2004-2006. Comprehensive data on wealth is collected biannually in SoFIE and we calculate household saving by examining how wealth has changed over time. We find that...

We investigate the effects of homeownership on parents? involvement in local school elections. We use 2007 New Zealand school board of trustees data to examine whether schools where parents have high rates of homeownership experience high parental voting turnout in elections. We also investigate...

This paper uses data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 New Zealand Census to examine how the supply of immigrants in particular skill-groups affects the employment and wages of the New Zealand-born and of earlier migrants. We first estimate simple CES production functions that allow for...

This paper uses data from the 1997–2007 New Zealand Income Survey to examine the economic performance of immigrants in New Zealand. Specifically, we use a synthetic cohort approach to examine how employment rates, hourly wages, annual income and occupations for immigrants compare to those for...

New Zealand's large and volatile external migration flows generate significant year-to-year fluctuations in the demand for residential housing. This paper uses population data from the 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 New Zealand Censuses, house sales price data from Quotable Value New Zealand...

Immigrants are typically found to have less wealth and hold it in different forms than the native born. These differences may affect both the economic assimilation of immigrants and overall portfolio allocation when immigrants are a large share of the population, as in New Zealand. In this...

This paper uses valuation data from Quotable Value New Zealand to examine changes in the value of the rural land in New Zealand between 1989 and 2003. The value of rural land reflects the profitability of agriculture as well as the returns to alternative land uses, and has a large impact on the...