Western Bay of Plenty an unheralded startup mecca
Questions regarding the future of work have recently focused my attention on understanding the sources of job creation […]
Articles written by leading NZ economist Benje Patterson
Social issues stemming from Queenstown’s housing problem
I was recently asked to provide comment on a fantastic article by Jo McKenzie-McLean looking at social issues stemming from Queenstown’s housing situation. My comments highlighted evidence of Queenstown’s burgeoning housing problem leading to a commuter belt forming.
Creating jobs: new or existing businesses?
I decided to test whether new or existing businesses are the engine for jobs growth in regional New Zealand. From an economic development perspective, these insights can help inform the extent to which resources should be focused on business attraction or building up resilience of existing enterprises.
Adrian Orr is impotent, not so Grant Robertson
The Reserve Bank’s target interest rate, the Official Cash Rate (OCR) has been slashed to a record low of 1.00%. Against a backdrop of a burgeoning international trade war, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr is worried about being left behind in an international race-to-the-bottom to devalue currencies and support exporters.
Just a wireframe: Statistics NZ’s wellbeing framework
Statistics NZ realeased its hotly anticipated Indicators Aotearoa dashboard. The dashboard was supposed to provide more than one hundred indicators of wellbeing, but instead we have been delivered a wireframe - filled with placeholders and patchy actual data.
No quick buck from buying a ski bach in Timbuktu
Houses in New Zealand have gotten expensive, even in off-the-beaten-track communities in the central South and North Islands. Some opportunistic real estate commentators have been quick to attribute these sharp gains to skiers’ demand. In a recent interview, I poured cold water on this logic, and cautioned wannabe investors expecting to make a quick buck from buying a bach in Timbuktu.
Top 5: applying wellbeing in local government
The buzzword wellbeing is being bandied about left, right and centre. But how do we put this new theory into practice and what will it mean for our regions. This post explores why wellbeing matters, and how you can use wellbeing ideals in an applied policy setting.
Central Otago gained big from Auckland and Queenstown Lakes
Central Otago District gained 306 Aucklanders in net terms over the four years to June 2017. Behind Auckland, there were also substantial gains to Central Otago’s population from people moving out of Queenstown Lakes.
Wage pressures mount, interest rates to be cut
Wage pressures have mounted, at a time when the economy has shown signs of slowing. To counteract the risk of a slowdown becoming entrenched, the RBNZ is likely to cut the OCR again at its next review in August.
Short electoral cycle breeds inexperience and conservatism
New Zealand’s short three-year parliamentary term is an impediment to meaningful policy implementation. Politicians have a fire under their bum to get stuff done fast. There is no time for new politicians to learn the ropes and, consequently, policy-on-the-fly becomes the modus operandi.
Who are buying Queenstown homes to live in?
Queenstown-Lakes continues to have the fastest growing population in the country, with the extra demand having propelled Queenstown’s […]
Aucklanders lack environmental awareness and action
The recently released New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS) provides a cross-domain perspective of wellbeing. The environmental side […]