The understanding of how allocation decisions can maximise the economic returns to the community from water for irrigation has received little attention, but is a significant issue for regional councils, those interested in water allocation policy development, and for irrigated farmers. There is...

This paper uses a national dataset from 1980 to 2010 of valuations and sales data by land use category from Quotable Value New Zealand to explore patterns in and potential drivers of values of rural land in New Zealand over time. Increasing our understanding of the drivers of rural land values...

Benefit transfer entails using estimates of non-market values derived at one site as approximations to benefits at other sites. The method finds favour because it can be applied quickly and cheaply, however the validity of benefit transfer is frequently questioned. Published studies generally...

The retail electricity market in New Zealand is evolving as the government continues to promote the development of a competitive and efficient market. Encouraging consumer switching through the “What’s My Number” campaign is expected to put pressure on electricity retailers to reduce...

Commentators have suggested over the years, and still do, that the NZ economy should restructure more rapidly towards sophisticated manufacturing and services so as to avoid remaining an agricultural economy. This paper reviews some relevant theory and empirical analyses, in a search for...

The National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management now requires that water quality objectives and limits be set for all water bodies in New Zealand. Where objectives result in the development of nitrate limits for waterways and development pressure is likely to make these limits difficult to...

Nutrient emissions from agricultural land are now widely recognized as one of the key contributors to poor water quality in local lakes, rivers and streams. Nutrient trading has been suggested as a regulatory tool to improve and protect water quality. However, farmers’ attitudes suggest that...

Historically NZ dairy farming has held a position as the lowest cost, non-subsidized producers at the farm gate. Recently, this position has been eroded as a result of increases in labor and land costs, while other emerging countries, such as Argentina and Ukraine, have adopted lower cost...