New Zealand A Typical Australasian strongEconomystrong - Motu.pdf

New Zealand: A Typical Australasian Economy? Arthur Grimes Motu Working Paper 04–11 Motu Economic and Public Policy Research November 2004 Author contact details Arthur Grimes Motu Economic and Public Policy Research PO Box 24390 Wellington New Zealand Senior Research Associate, Motu; and Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Waikato Email: arthur.grimes@.nz Acknowledgements This paper forms part of research funded through a grant from the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand. A version of the paper was presented to “The Visible Hand: The Changing Role of the State in New Zealand’s Development,” a symposium in honour of Sir Frank Holmes, Wellington, November 2004. An earlier version was presented to a Motu Public Policy seminar in September 2004. I wish to thank participants at that seminar, particularly Geoff Bertram, and my Motu colleagues for helpful comments; however, I am solely responsible for the views expressed. Motu Economic and Public Policy Research PO Box 24390 Wellington New Zealand Email: info@.nz Telephone: +64-4-939-4250 Website: .nz © 2005 Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust. All rights reserved. No portion of this paper may be reproduced without permission of the authors. Motu Working Papers are research materials circulated by their authors for purposes of information and discussion. They have not necessarily undergone formal peer review or editorial treatment. ISSN 1176-2667. i Abstract We examine trend economic developments in New Zealand and in each of Australia’s six states and two territories (i.e. nine regions) in order to inform issues regarding economic policy harmonisation across Australasia. Our focus is on trend developments in GDP, population, GDP per capita and employment (each at regional level), and