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Over the last five years, New Zealand’s export volumes have grown by an average of just 1.4%pa. During that period, of course, exporters have grappled with a high exchange rate and an international recession. But the growth figure is still the worst in more than thirty years, and continues a trend of a deteriorating export performance since 2003. Exports aren’t the be-all and end-all for the economy, but their lacklustre performance highlights the need for New Zealand to alter its economic model if we’re to avoid a debt crisis down the track.

Treasury has put forward the idea of rebalancing the tax system by raising the emphasis on consumption taxes and lowering the emphasis on direct income taxes. This view has merit, but it also needs to be accompanied by a redesign of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), for if the tax is raised, the current discrimination against service exports embedded in GST will be accentuated.

Have you lost your job or are you worried about doing so? You no doubt had a rush of hope after the Job Summit - everything was going to be okay. At one stage I was expecting to see our unemployed diligently hacking out a cycle track worthy of Wellington’s mountain biking elite. I pictured John Key at the front of the line, pick and shovel over either shoulder, singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go…”, with Paula Bennett, our very own Snow White, bringing up the rear.

An overheated housing market proved to be a catalyst for the recent economic meltdown. It spurred unsustainable borrowing and inflated consumption as people perceived themselves to be richer. However the higher house prices have not been underpinned by higher future income prospects. Overcooked house prices still pose difficulties to the economy. This phenomenon sparks a number of questions. Why aren’t asset prices, such as house prices, accounted for in monetary policy directly? How can asset prices be controlled? And what is being done to ensure that disruptive house price booms do not occur again?

Credit rating Fitch’s announcement last week that it was placing a negative outlook on New Zealand’s AA+ sovereign rating because of its large current account deficit and need to raise savings brings into stark relief a dilemma facing New Zealand’s economic policy makers. On the one hand there is a political imperative to stoke spending and prevent soaring unemployment. On the other hand New Zealanders are perceived as irresponsible spendthrifts living beyond their means. This conundrum has been publicly epitomised by Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard’s seemingly contradictory comments exhorting banks to lower interest rates for borrowers and castigating New Zealand households for not saving enough.

Ever since the General Motors’ car Sunraycer won the inaugural 1987 world solar challenge, many people have been intrigued by the prospect of a viable solar car. A car that runs on free energy from the sun without the need to stop and refuel would be sure to turn a few heads. But the reality then, as now, is that such a car could not be built with available technology. Drawbacks include the weight of the batteries that would be required, the low efficiency of cost-effective solar panels, and the fact that solar panels on moving vehicles are not constantly exposed to the sun. While we may see solar panels extending the range of rechargeable electric cars in the near future, pure solar-powered cars remain the domain of hobbyists.

With New Zealand’s net international debt hitting 98% of its annual production (GDP) in March there has been a lot of talk regarding the fact that we seem to have borrowed excessively relative to the rest of the world. As the global economic situation gradually makes it more difficult for a small country like New Zealand to bury ourselves in debt, it is important to look at why we could be borrowing so heavily.

As the main political parties seem to support the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in some shape or form, one could be forgiven for thinking that the current Select Committee review of the ETS by the government is pointless.

New Zealand’s KiwiSaver scheme turns two on 1 July. According to its supporters it has been wildly successful; the numbers enrolling have certainly exceeded original estimates. I’ll look at how real that success has been shortly and also how the scheme might evolve over the longer-term, but firstly let’s look at some of the features of the scheme that make it mildly revolutionary.

In many ways Auckland has epitomised New Zealand’s economic and social transformation since the economic reforms of the 1980s. It is big, bold and brash.  It has gone for growth and achieved it.  But there is a slightly uncomfortable tinge to its style of growth.