International trade protectionism is frequently supported on the assumption that importables provide more jobs for unskilled labour than does the exportable sector. This contention is questioned here by reference to the factor intensity of New Zealand trade. Exportables are found to be more...

In 1990, Australia and New Zealand were ranked around 25th and 37th in terms of Gross National Product (GNP) per capita, having been the highest-income countries in the world one hundred years earlier. Those countries relatively poor economic growth performance over that long period contrasts...