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Strong growth in US economy?

According to employment and GDP indicators the US economy is currently growing strongly with low unemployment and strong job growth.

Will Wellbeing Budget be gazumped by sombre economic outlook?

Transformational or conventional? The economic context is sombre with accumulating risks and an OCR cut.
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BERL Data Newsletter - May 2019

An update on the 2018 Census, and a draft paper from StatsNZ on an urban influence classification.

Kiwisaver and the joys of compound growth

A new report from Morningstar sheds light on how people are using Kiwisaver, and where they might be leaving money on the table.

Time to rein in payday lenders

The promises are big, but the fees and interest rates are even bigger leading many to further hardship.

Marriage and divorce are both falling out of favour

In 1988 there were 23 marriages or civil unions per 1,000 eligible people, while in 2018 the rate was less than half that figure at just under 11.

Monthly exports for March 2019 export highest ever recorded

Figures for March 2019 saw the highest ever monthly export values and our second largest trade surplus.

Income adequacy – a wero for the WEAG

The Welfare Expert Advisory Group report to Government has been released. Establishing the level of income that is adequate in today’s Aotearoa was a fundamental issue.

Census asking questions we already knew?

The 700,000 people missed by the 2018 census have been filled in by admin data held by StatsNZ. If this was already available, do we really need a census?

Measuring social capital

Why economic freedom should be included as an indicator for measuring wellbeing in New Zealand.

Census 2018 undercount

StatsNZ has revealed to Parliament the scale of undercount of Census 2018. Around 700,000 people did not participate, or only partially answered the Census.

2018 screen industry revenue cools with growth in post-production activity

New Zealand screen industry gross revenue waned in 2018, decreasing eight percent to $3.3b on the back of reduced activity.

Not all heroes wear capes

Often seen as wasteful and inefficient, government officials have pulled off a feat of high speed law writing in the few weeks since our darkest day.

USA wage inflation Missing In Action

The employment situation in the USA is puzzling commentators. Wages aren’t rising as expected for such a tight labour market.

Positive economic performance to date, but road ahead looks bumpy

GDP is still increasing, but at at a slower rate despite a growing population and a hot tourism industry.

Butter price returning to normality

Prices of milk and cream would be expected to drive the prices of dairy-based products. Butter is almost entirely made of cream, but the relationship isn't holding true.

Visitor arrivals numbers still increasing, but visits are becoming shorter

Since 2010, the number of visitors arriving in New Zealand has increased by almost 60 percent, but visits are becoming shorter.

Aroha beats hate

E nga iwi, e nga mana, e nga maunga, e nga moana, e nga reo, e rau rangatira ma, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Australian GDP fails to meet expectations

The Reserve Bank of Australia, which had forecast a 0.6 percent increase for the December 2018 quarter. They only got 0.2 percent.

Increase in availability of alcohol for consumption

Craft beer, cider and spirits are the fastest growing alcohol markets, with all volumes increasing in 2018.
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BERL Data Newsletter - March 2019

Changes to the Household Economic Survey, Measuring child poverty: concepts and definitions.

Tax – the Achilles Heel of a transformative agenda

The concepts of tax and active tax policies remain the Achilles Heel of those wanting to progress a truly transformative agenda for New Zealand.

Population higher than estimated

Cumulative net migration between January 2001 and October 2018 was 24,000 higher than estimated, new data shows.

ITP restructuring off the mark

We look at Minister Hipkins ITP sector restructuring proposal and air our doubts on how successful it will be in delivering better outcomes and lowering costs.

Export receipts healthy

Total export receipts are continuing their upward trend, but several potential speed bumps are visible on the horizon.

Unemployment rate increases while hourly earnings grow

December 2018 quarter unemployment increased to 4.3 percent, up from 4.0 percent in the September 2018 quarter while annual ordinary time hourly earnings for 2019 increased 3.1 percent.

Poor productivity will jeopardise wellbeing gains

Designed to create opportunities and promote innovation, will poor productivity scupper the Wellbeing Budget ambitions?

Migration measures - timely or accurate?

Statistics New Zealand’s recent change in methodology for reporting migration data has brought to the fore the debate about providing timely data or accurate data.

Building consents over two decades

Total annual residential building consents at all-time high, driven largely by low interest rates. We look back over the last 20 years.

True cost of a free education

The end of January marks the beginning of the school year, some parents will be reeling at the cost of sending their children off to get a "free" state funded education.