A while ago (after the Pre-EFU) Brian Fallow discussed the upcoming “twin deficits” New Zealand is likely to face. Fundamentally, the private sector in New Zealand has been borrowing a lot from overseas while the public sector has been saving. His fear is that, once the public sector starts borrowing again our debt levels will […]
Truly, this guys satire is brilliant. I love the new post so much I have to stick bits of it up here 😛 Investors, economists and prominent businessmen have all praised the new economic plan unveiled by National Party leader John Key this weekend. Key’s proposed strategy to kickstart the New Zealand economy was announced […]
So the Green’s want a Tobin tax do they (ht Frog Blog and Stephen). Ok, so I’m hoping they aren’t justifying it on externality grounds – this leaves us with the conclusion that they must believe that it is the most efficient means available to make a certain level of government income. They do seem […]
Ok, so our pick of 5%pa inflation by September following the Budget was wrong – its even worse at 5.1%. Largest increase since June 1990! I blame the re-weighting for the difference 😉 Note it will not stay over 5% for long – underlying “true” inflation (stemming from inflation expectations and its impact on the […]
How do we think the introduction of Kiwisaver has influenced the current economic environment? Well, Kiwisaver will have worked through a number of channels but fundamentally, in the short term, it would have propped up savings (note, when I say savings I am talking about PRIVATE savings, not NATIONAL savings) and thereby reduced CONSUMPTION. Where […]
According to Tony Arthur at BNZ we should be. This is an essential issue for NZ as it determines where our Terms of Trade stays elevated – or whether it falls. In turn it determines our national income, given what we produce. I agree with many of the factors he states (although he is a […]