New Zealand's ageing population is expected to have a significant impact on long-term government expenditure, particularly in the areas of health and superannuation. Recent projections from Treasury's Long-Term Fiscal Model suggest that, under current policy settings, government expenditure...

This paper considers Crown financial portfolio composition from a welfare perspective. It argues that a broad definition of the Crown’s portfolio is required for analysing the welfare implications of portfolio composition. In practice, this means incorporating the present discounted value of...

This paper is a primer for policy analysts on the securitisation of assets and liabilities. It describes key elements of a typical asset securitisation; outlines the reasons for securitising assets; discusses the types of assets that can be securitised; describes the requirements for a successful...

This paper investigates the agency problems associated with the public management of a large financial asset portfolio. After considering the relevant theoretical and empirical literature, a set of institutional arrangements are presented that should reduce the extent of the potential agency...

This paper examines remuneration and labour mobility patterns among workers in foreign-owned firms operating in New Zealand. By tracking workers as they move across jobs in different types of firms, we document the extent of the “foreign wage premium” distinguishing between compositional...

This paper examines the firm-level determinants of foreign acquisitions of New Zealand companies, and the consequences for both the purchased firms and the workers within those firms. We follow a combined propensity score matching and difference-in- differences approach to identify and address...

Using comprehensive, shipment-level merchandise trade data, we examine the extent to which New Zealand exporters maintain stable New Zealand dollar prices by passing on exchange rate changes to foreign customers. We find that the extent to which firms absorb exchange rate fluctuations in the...

Effective marginal tax rates (EMTRs) can be very different from the statutory rate and vary across firms, reflecting such factors as the extent and nature of taxable deductions (losses, depreciation), asset and ownership structures, and debt/equity financing. We estimate firm-specific EMTRs and...

This paper investigates the agency problems associated with the public management of a large financial asset portfolio. After considering the relevant theoretical and empirical literature, a set of institutional arrangements are presented that should reduce the extent of the potential agency...