As 2020 draws to a close, Michael Andrew asks the economists what they made of a year of dire forecasts, record spikes, lockdowns, recessions and resilience. It’s April 2020, New Zealand is in the middle of the nationwide level four lockdown, and I’m on the phone with my old university lecturer, Professor Paul Hansen – … Read more
Covid-19 is still having a disproportionate impact on employment across the genders. Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara explains the trends, consequences and what could it mean for the gender pay gap. The latest labour market statistics for the September quarter came with few obvious surprises. The unemployment rate increased to a lower-than-expected 5.3%, and the … Read more
New Zealand’s economy is officially in a recession, with statistics released today revealing a record 12.2% decline in GDP. But as Jarrod Kerr of Kiwi Economics writes, it’s now time to focus on recovery. As economists, we love trawling through data. But we’ve never seen anything like this. This is traumatic. Service exports were stonewalled, … Read more
Political leaders from the main parties gathered in Auckland today to address the business community and answer the question: ‘What is your party’s plan for economic growth?’ Here’s what they had to say. As the leaders of five main parties gathered today, the results of a Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey revealed some telling … Read more
New Zealanders owe more than ever, but Covid-19 has brought with it a new question: is $120,000 a head too much debt, or not enough to get the economy back on its feet? NZ Herald’s Liam Dann investigates in this Herald Premium article. “There is room to accommodate more debt in the economy,” says Chris Bloor, manager … Read more
We’ve long lamented the loss of New Zealand’s best and brightest. Now that the ‘brain drain’ has the potential to be reversed, let’s not squander the opportunity, writes Toni Truslove. When Robert Muldoon famously quipped to a journalist that New Zealanders who migrated to Australia “raised the IQ of both countries”, his response diminished the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch mosque shooter sentenced to life without parole, hundreds of millions set aside for Covid-19 vaccine, and the diverging inequalities of the economic recovery. The Christchurch mosque shooter will never leave prison for the rest of his natural life. Yesterday afternoon, a sentence of life without … Read more