How do private returns to tertiary education in New Zealand compare internationally? According to the latest OECD measures, the private rate of return for New Zealand is 8.9%, compared to an OECD average of 12.4%, placing New Zealand toward the bottom of the OECD ranking. The aim of this study...

The Phase I CEPEA Study Group report presented an overview of CEPEA’s objectives and scope, estimated the economic impact of a comprehensive agreement and provided some high level suggestions regarding selected key elements of such an agreement. This report builds on, and explores new ground,...

This paper aims to highlight the continued importance to New Zealand’s economic future of having a vibrant farming sector. It argues that New Zealand policymakers cannot afford to ignore or downplay the contribution of the primary sector in favour of promoting ‘sexy’ industries such as ICT...

The relative decline in unskilled wages worldwide has prompted some commentators to place the blame on globalisation and trade liberalisation. A more likely cause in the New Zealand context is technical change that favours the employment of skilled labour. This hypothesis is tested using shift...

This is a scoping study. It summarises the dynamics of services trade in the world economy and discusses some of the benefits of services trade liberalisation from a qualitative and quantitative view point. We place particular emphasis on the role and interests of developing and least developed...