Distance and location are important determinants of many choices that economists study. While these variables can sometimes be obtained from secondary data, economists often rely on information that is self-reported by respondents in surveys. These self-reports are used especially for the...

Seasonal work programs are increasingly advocated by international aid agencies as a way of enabling both developed and developing countries to benefit from migration. They are argued to provide workers with new skills and allow them to send remittances home, without the receiving country having...

This article provides a theoretical economic foundation for the popular Nelson and Siegel (1987) class of yield curve models (which has been absent up to now). This foundation also offers a new framework for investigating and interpreting the relationships between the yield curve, output and...

This paper considers respondent dynamics within the NZIER quarterly survey of business opinion. The paper concentrates mainly on the potential usefulness of matched and individual survey responses with particular reference to business confidence. The main framework is a three-by-three matrix of...

The link between human well-being and biodiversity has not been well studied and was therefore the goal of this research project. Focus was placed on an increase in New Zealand native biodiversity, by an increase in the number of native trees and shrubs being planted on public lands. An increase...

The proper design of price interventions in energy markets requires consideration of equity and efficiency effects. In this paper, budget survey data from 29,000 Indonesian households are used to estimate a demand system for five energy sources, which is identified by the spatial variation in...

The ways in which economists value natural resources has been, and continues to be, a constantly evolving process. At first, only transactions that took place in the marketplace were considered. However, it was not long until it was realised that this concept was an incomplete way to value...

It is now commonplace to study labour market dynamics using flows data from labour force panel surveys. The analysis of labour market flows to and from the states of employment, unemployment and non-participation has received most attention. This paper considers some New Zealand aspects of these...

Many business managers demonstrate a reluctance to engage fully with corporate social responsibility (CSR). They often perceive CSR as a cost and their CSR activities tend to be piecemeal and defensive. Such suboptimal outcomes can stem from a failure to appreciate a firm’s social assets. We...

In this paper we consider how international migration is related to the frequency and duration of trips to the home country. For many migrants, international migration triggers a series of trips to visit the home country that allow for a replenishment of the depleted relationship capital with...