The first article in this series briefly explored who trades, noting that it is individual people and firms who trade, not nations. This article continues my description of trade from a fundamental perspective by exploring why individual people and firms trade.
According to Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), the number of people in New Zealand who are employed has increased by 278,000 during the past five years (December 2011 to December 2016). But, curiously, during the same period, the number of people who are unemployed has decreased by only 5,000. This article briefly examines why such a large increase in the former has been matched by such a small decrease in the latter.
Net migration for New Zealand reached 70,600 in the year to December 2016. The net inward migration seen in 2016 comes from 127,300 arrivals, and 56,700 departures. As shown in the figure to the right, the last time New Zealand had annual outward migration was in the year to December 2012 when 1,200 more people left than arrived.
In the year to December 2016, Auckland was the top spot for net migration in New Zealand. Auckland had 33,900 net permanent migrants, with 55,300 permanent arrivals and 21,400 permanent departures.
While the lens is currently focused on record net migration numbers and the burgeoning tourism industry, parts of our export sector have been making new records.
Making and keeping Wellington great – a briefing session looking at the last 60 years and speculating about the next 60 years.
ResizedImage600400 Dr Ganesh Nana Profile 12
Businesses expenditure on research and development (BERD) in 2016 is up $356 million (29 percent) compared with 2014. These results, from the recently published 2016 Research and Development (R&D) Survey of Statistics New Zealand, show a positive outlook for firms because R&D supports innovation, which is a key driver of economic growth.
berl graph
New research released today by the Housing Foundation shows that helping families out of rental accommodation and into affordable home ownership leads to positive social, economic and health outcomes, benefitting both the families themselves and the NZ taxpayer.