Fast internet access is widely considered to be a productivity-enhancing factor. However despite promises of substantial gains from its deployment the evidence from recent empirical studies sugests that the productivity gains may not be as large as originally hypothesised. If substantiated these...

This paper utilises two politically determined natural experiments affecting state-provided social housing to examine the impact that housing tenure status has on neighbourhood outcomes. From 1990, New Zealand’s National government sold a substantial number of state houses either to...

We examine product and market entry choices of New Zealand exporters, using an enterprise level dataset which links firm performance measures with detailed data on merchandise trade. We focus our enquiry not on the broad question of what determines a firm's ability to export, but on the...

We estimate net benefits arising from extensions to Auckland's Northern Motorway since 1991. Population, employment and land values rose substantially near the new exits and to the north of the motorway extension, relative to developments elsewhere. We use changes in land values (controlling for...

This paper examines one key theme of modern spatial economics relating to city development: Do the major cities within and across countries increasingly attract a disproportionate share of knowledge intensive economic activities? We describe trends in shares of knowledge intensive economic...

The authors use a panel of more than 1,500 New Zealand firms, from a diverse range of industries, to examine how the adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices affects firm performance. The panel is based on managerial responses to mandatory surveys of management practices in 2001 and...

We examine whether a single housing market exists across 16 cities covering two countries, Australia and New Zealand. Distances between almost all of these cities are vastly greater than commuting distances. For instance, Perth is over 2,000 kilometres (kms) from its nearest large city...

Does an individual's housing situation affect community social capital and influence regional development through this channel? A body of literature which followed the seminal work of DiPasquale and Glaeser suggests that homeownership is positively related to social capital formation due to both...