Auckland is on the move. Economic growth is outpacing most regions and people continue to flow into the city. This is putting pressure on the shape of Auckland city and the form of housing and transport infrastructure.

This paper has been prepared as part of NZIER’s public good programme to provide independent advice on water policy. We explore the current and expected future challenges facing water management, and review the history of water policy in New Zealand. We note that there is a broad consensus...

Economic performance is uneven across New Zealand’s regions. This paper highlights the similarities and differences in regional economies, the drivers of past performance, and how that performance is shared in the community (GDP versus household income, for example).

New Zealand’s crippling home affordability rates cannot be fixed by a single solution such as changing immigration policy or urban planning rules, or imposing a capital gains tax or lending ratios. The report explains that New Zealand’s obsession with home ownership is one of the key reasons...

This paper develops formulations for estimating the economic welfare impacts of transport strategies that change land use. The formulations seek to use outputs of transport modelling typically used for transport appraisal.

This working paper evidences the key trends that should be expected to result from an ageing population. It looks at which kinds of industries will fall and which will flourish. It discusses the kinds of trends we might expect in terms of consumer demand and it touches on what firms should be...

Much of the value New Zealanders get from natural assets is intangible, making it difficult to measure. Currently, there are a variety of techniques used to measure the value of natural assets, adding to the cost and uncertainty of values obtained. A standardised technique would make economic...

A new report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) highlights the unprecedented fiscal challenges that New Zealand politicians will face in coming decades. NZIER recommends that tough decisions around taxes and government spending need to be taken now, and stuck to, in...