Reforesting Arrowtown’s backcountry
onomics has recently committed to a long-term sponsorship of the Arrowtown Choppers to support their goal of planting 18,000 native trees in the hills behind Arrowtown over the next three years.
Blog
Queenstown Lakes labour market insights to August 2022
The borders have reopened and visitors are returning to Queenstown-Lakes. The additional demand is a lifeline for tourism businesses starved of revenue over the past couple of years. However, finding workers to service this demand remains an acute challenge.
Economics student internship – summer 22/23 | Arrowtown
We are looking for an economics student for a five-to-eight-week summer internship. Do you want to spend a summer in Arrowtown working on applied economic problems in the South Island’s only private economic consultancy? Do you have exceptional problem solving and writing skills?
Tourism’s recovery is catching us off guard
It was a pleasure to sit down with BusinessDesk for a Sharesies shared lunch. We talked in detail about the tourism recovery, with a strong focus on understanding how demand is returning, but that labour challenges remain a key threat to the recovery.
What if housing’s one-way bet is over?
There are no shortages of people wanting to go on the record as to when property prices will rise again. But there is a certain curiosity about their logic. What if housing doesn't remain a one-way bet on even shitty houses in mediocre spots?
Mortgage rates fall, but OCR still to rise
You might have been confused to see several banks reduce fixed mortgage rates last week, while at the same time columnists are saying the Reserve Bank will lift the official cash rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday.
Biking’s contribution to the Queenstown-Lakes economy
Benje Patterson assessed the economic impact of biking and mountain biking in Queenstown Lakes. The report showed that biking accounts for $157.6 million of spending and is already more than a third the size of the ski economy.
Why Aussies are fleeing for the regions
Hordes of Sydney residents are upping sticks and heading for the good life in the regions. It’s interesting to see that the same trend is also happening on this side of the Tasman. What do we have in common?
Aussies are quitting their jobs in droves
I am spreading my wings across the ditch in Sydney this week. It’s interesting to be on the ground in another country where there is a sense of déjà vu against some of the trends we are also seeing in New Zealand.
Regional economic development: Budget 2022 cheat sheet
Here are a few points of note of relevant initiatives in Budget 2022 that might have direct implications for the work of people in economic development agencies.
Delivering on the Budget is the real challenge
For me Budget 2022 is not so much about whether the spending itself adds to inflation or not, it’s more a question of delivery. My gut tells me it would be better to focus on doing a few changes well, rather than biting off more than you can chew.
Businesses’ inflationary expectations are becoming unhinged
Inflationary expectations are becoming unhinged, with businesses’ expectations of inflation two years out running at their highest level in more than 30 years (since 1991)!