Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan has updated the tradtional 12 Days of Christmas rhyme. This song was riginally published in England in 1780 without music. The standard tune now associated with it is derived from a 1909 arrangement of a traditional folk melody by English composer Frederic Austin…
Category: International
Foreign economies and global economic issues
Trading our way out of trouble?
From the beginning of the COVID-19 recession, we’ve expected regions with large food-based primary sectors to weather the economic storm better than those that are highly exposed to international tourism.
Global surge could wreck rebound projections
A second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the world, even as New Zealand’s containment measures remain robust. The rising tide of cases could stymie economic rebounds expected globally, with negative implications for New Zealand’s export potential heading into 2021.
The world still needs to eat
Although the movement of people across the globe has come to a near standstill, New Zealand’s exports mean that we still have a large connection to the outside world. Revenue from goods exports are income for many New Zealanders and have thankfully been quite resilient to the effects of COVID-19. It’s hard finding cheerful good news stories during a global pandemic and subsequent global recession.
A delayed, but not denied, economic effect
New Zealand’s swift shift towards Alert Level 1 has seen the economy regain momentum more quickly than we had anticipated in the initial stages of the pandemic. Despite a feeling of cautious optimism around the country, we believe those gains will be lost as the economic realities of COVID-19 set in, with New Zealand an isolated lifeboat amid a tempest of global mayhem.
New Zealand infrastructure spending lags international partners
Continued calls for infrastructure investment and shovel-ready projects have yet to be matched with actual spending, but this problem isn’t a new one. Infometrics’ analysis of international data shows that New Zealand has been investing in infrastructure at a lower rate than other comparable countries for the last 30 years.
Chart of the month: COVID-19 Infections
New Zealand has almost completed a month of Level 4 lockdown, aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19. And it seems to be working! New Zealanders have endured incredibly tough restrictions, including requirements to stay home, as well as increased risks for essential workers as they ensured that New Zealand remained fed and looked after.
COVID-19 presents a steep learning curve for education
Our $5b international education sector is a New Zealand success story, and in recent years has become a poster child for our outward-looking, globally-connected economy. But the sector is facing a steep learning curve as it seeks to adapt to lower international student arrivals and a world that is struggling to contain the spread of a pandemic.
A More Appealing and Effective Price on Carbon
In 2016 a large group of international economists including four former Federal Reserve Chairs and 27 Nobel laureates made a number of recommendations on climate policy. At Infometrics we have explored the effects of a ‘tax and rebate’ policy with a detailed model of the New Zealand economy.
Chart of the Month: Buckle up, New Zealand’s not far behind
Comparing the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Zealand to some of our key international partner economies can help us to understand how we’re tracking and what might be ahead for us. There’s no one correct chart to show how COVID-19 is affecting the world, but we hope this chart provides a different way of looking at the numbers.