When good people leave
I am proud to have supported this documentary produced by Storyworks, with funding from NZ on Air. The documentary looks at the human side of Queenstown's severely unaffordable housing.
Blog
Provincial Growth Fund: lessons from Europe
This article reflects on economic development philosophy, including comparisons between the Provincial Growth Fund and European funds based on personal experience. It is written by Ceri Macleod, who is Economic Development Coordinator at Gore District Council.
Where are the biggest households?
Social issues stemming from deteriorating housing affordability and a lack of new homes have been key topics of debate over recent years. Census 2018 helps show where in New Zealand household occupancy rates have deteriorated the most since 2013.
Have lower interest rates spooked businesses?
Business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. The irony is that the Reserve Bank’s August OCR cut, which was much bigger than market expectations, has spooked businesses rather than boosted them as had been intended.
Jetstar’s regional withdrawal not just bad for airfares
Jetstar’s withdrawal from the regional market is a blow not just for consumers, but also economic and social development in the provinces.
Retirees to run out of money years before they die
The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently warned that workers across many countries may outlive their savings by a decade or more. Analysing evidence in New Zealand shows we are in a similar boat.
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 […]
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.