Over the last month there have been a range of concerns raised about the diplomatic relationship between New Zealand and China, with the announcement that the 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism launch event has been postponed and government decisions being critical of China setting a foundation for worry.
Category: Regional
Regional economic issues
Love is in the air, and the wallet
It seems that love was in the air again this year, with Cupid’s arrow aiming as much for people’s wallets as their hearts. Looking around and seeing all the hopeless romantics and their gestures of love ranging from rose bouquets to axe throwing made me question just what all the hype is about?
Auckland’s growth dominance continues, for now
Infometrics’ new estimates of regional GDP show that Auckland was the fastest growing region in the year to March 2018, expanding by 3.9% (see Graph 1). Auckland has regularly been towards the top of the regional league table throughout the last seven years. Its growth during 2018 was underpinned by a strong services performance, with industries such as professional, scientific, and technical services, financial and insurance services, and retail trade all expanding by more than 5.0%
New at Infometrics in February 2019
January/February is always a busy time for Infometrics. This is the time we update our Regional Economic Profiles and Sector Profiles, we also release the first forecasts for the year.
Community wellbeing: the next frontier?
Earlier this month, Infometrics economist Brad Olsen spoke at the Economic Development New Zealand 2018 Conference ‘Mahi Tahi’ about how to move towards measuring inclusive growth in NZ’s regions. This article summarises the key points of his presentation.
Chart of the month: New Small Area Boundaries
Small area boundaries have changed in New Zealand and Infometrics is gearing up for the changeover. We are evolving our Small Area Economic Profiles (http://www.infometrics.co.nz/product/small-area-profiles) into a more comprehensive Small Area Economic Framework based on the new boundaries.
A day in the life of an economist – Rob Heyes
Infometrics welcomes Rob Heyes as their newest senior economist. Rob joins Infometrics from MBIE, where he led research projects on migration trends and was the New Zealand representative to the OECD Migration Expert Group. Rob has a deep knowledge of labour markets and skills and works with our regional and sector clients.
We chat with Rob about what a day in the life of an economist looks like…
New Zealand to invest $129b in infrastructure over next decade
The latest Infometrics Infrastructure Pipeline Profile shows that average infrastructure investment across the country is expected to be 28% higher over the next 10 years compared to the 2010-2018 period. A total of $129 billion in capital projects are estimated to be built over the 2019-2029 period.
What is the Low Emissions Vehicle Contestable Fund?
In light of National Drive Electric Week happening this month we thought we’d talk about how businesses can access funding for their electric vehicle ventures.
Chart of the month: local council infrastructure investment
Our latest Infrastructure Pipeline Profile sheds light on which infrastructure areas local councils are looking to invest in over the next 10 years. Capital spending by local councils is expected to top $53b over the next decade, compared to $39b over the previous nine years.