New Zealand is in the process of commemorating, commiserating and/or celebrating James Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand in 1769. New Zealand was merely one stop on his trip, albeit a lengthy one, which proceeded onwards to Australia, Java (where nearly a third of the crew died from dysentery), Cape Town and back to England. It was the 25th circumnavigation of the world.
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In this post I am going to discuss how a change in labour force growth can explain firms’ entry/ exit rates. Recent findings by Hopenhayn et al (2018) for the US motivated me to think about this relationship in a NZ context.
Furthermore, the authors linked these entry and exit rates to “dynamism” and therefore productivity growth – a link I wanted to think about a bit more carefully.
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This article was originally posted at Interest.co.nz in 2013. The ideas are timeless 😉
Imagine being able to print your own currency.
Click a button, add a few zeros and voila you’ve increased the money supply.
The Reserve Bank can do it, and, believe it or not in a similar vein so too can Air New Zealand.
Read moreIn a recent response to questions, The Reserve Bank of Australia has listed six options of unconventional monetary policy that is considered in an event of extreme policy implementation. Westpac economists have also talked about potential unconventional monetary policy tools applicable to the NZ case here – this is worth a read, but is a different list!
In this post I would like to outline the RBA’s options and hopefully make them easy to understand.
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This article was originally published on the Infometrics website here.
One of the true tests of a society is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members, particularly the old, the young, the sick, and the disabled. There is a lot of good with New Zealand and New Zealand policy. However, on assisting those unable to provide for themselves, our provisions for people unable to work due to a health condition is an area where we are increasingly failing.
Read moreNZIER had their annual NZIER Economics Award earlier in the week – or as we often call it NZ Economist of the Year. The winner for 2019 was John McDermott, current Executive Director and Motu and former Chief Economist of the RBNZ.
John was an excellent choice for this award. He has contributed significantly to NZ and international literature, while influencing policy making in NZ – especially through the high pressure times of the Global Financial Crisis. Furthermore, while doing all this he has taken time to do some economics teaching in Wellington, helping to inspire future generations of students.