Latest publications / Insights (3)

The trade implications of Mr Biden for New Zealand - NZIER Insight 97

Or what does the Chinese Century mean for New Zealand? The United States has structured world trade over the past 70 years in a way that has been positive for New Zealand. Now that the United States has relinquished its lead trading position, how will Mr Biden behave on trade policy? … Read more

The tale of Goldilocks and the three fears (about the minimum wage) - Insight 96

The minimum wage is a ‘Goldilocks’ policy: not too high, not too low. A political consensus on the role and appropriate level of the minimum wage is both possible and desirable. Read more

Tourism recovery - without stepping on the gas - NZIER Insight 95

With borders closed for the foreseeable future New Zealand tourism is facing a loss of substantial revenue from the lack of foreign visitors, who would usually maintain demand for tourism businesses after the end of the peak summer holidays for domestic tourists. But after the COVID-1 … Read more

COVID-19 - a historical perspective - NZIER Insight 94

Who will be the winners and losers from COVID-19? History says don't be presumptuous. Former Head of School of Government and economic historian Gary Hawke explains in the final of the NZIER COVID Insight series. Read more

Inflexibility a challenge for the agrifood sector - NZIER Insight 93

COVID-19 has proved challenging for the agri-food sector. From pasture to plate, farms and businesses in the agri-food sector have reported feeling squeezed between rising costs and lower prices. To explore the impacts of COVID-19 on the agri-food sector, NZIER collaborated with an Au … Read more

Regulators are the new diplomats - the role of IRC in a post-COVID world - NZIER Insight 92

New research shows that the New Zealand Government is deeply imbedded in a complex web of international regulatory cooperation (IRC) arrangements and agreements. Bilateral agreements with Australia predominate including regulatory harmonisation on food standards and the Trans Tasman M … Read more

Is dairy our biggest achievement or yesterday's news? NZIER Insight 91

The dairy industry has proved resilient through the COVID crisis. But what of the future? This paper looks at the dairy industry prospects over the next ten years. We find that the most important challenges are domestic supply side issues (conforming to climate change and water qualit … Read more

Land-based industries see New Zealand through tough COVID times - NZIER Insight 90

Covid-19 has changed the trade game that New Zealand plays. With the structure of the New Zealand economy based on our exports the stakes are high. Now that New Zealand has shifted through the lockdown levels and arrived at Alert Level 1, it is a good time to ask why our land-based ex … Read more

Migration after COVID-19 - NZIER Insight 89

New Zealand has put up a 'no entry' sign. As well as stopping international tourism; we have turned off historically high rates of inward economic migration, forgoing what has been at best a small positive impact on GDP per capita. New Zealand closed the border in response to Covid-19 … Read more

COVID-19: The recovery ahead - NZIER Insight 88

New Zealand has managed the COVID-19 outbreak with relative success, in terms of containing infection rates and deaths. This has seen New Zealand move down alert levels over the past few weeks as we achieved zero active cases, with restrictions relaxed but the border closed. However, … Read more

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