Economic performance is uneven across New Zealand’s regions. This paper highlights the similarities and differences in regional economies, the drivers of past performance, and how that performance is shared in the community (GDP versus household income, for example).

This paper has been prepared as part of NZIER’s public good programme to provide independent advice on water policy. We explore the current and expected future challenges facing water management, and review the history of water policy in New Zealand. We note that there is a broad consensus...

This paper considers New Zealand’s current sustainable development policy in light of international approaches to sustainability which focus on maintaining stocks of natural, physical, institutional and human capital. We find that New Zealand’s environmental priorities are not well targeted...

This paper develops formulations for estimating the economic welfare impacts of transport strategies that change land use. The formulations seek to use outputs of transport modelling typically used for transport appraisal.

NZIER contributed the trade and investment chapter of the book Pacific Partners – The future of U.S.- New Zealand Relations. The case studies were developed to inform and illustrate the conceptual ideas presented in the chapter, and to provide real world examples of how New Zealand and U.S....

The current account deficit in the balance of payments has frequently surfaced in public policy debate, with many commentators asserting that low household saving is a major cause of these deficits. Yet, in standard macroeconomic theory, both the current account balance and household saving are...

Differences in productivity explain much of the growing income gap between Australia and New Zealand. Good policy responses rely on understanding the sources of these differences. Seventy percent of the aggregate gap in productivity between the two countries is due to underperformance of New...

NZIER has always had a strong interest in understanding the way in which the New Zealand economy interacts with the rest of the world. We have a long history of producing research into trade liberalisation and globalisation. As the global economy becomes ever more complex, we are now turning our...

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NZIER’s Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) is one of New Zealand’s leading economic indicators. March 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the QSBO. The QSBO provides data driven insights into how firms are responding to current economic events. Due to its reliability and...