Listener: 19 August, 1995.
Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money;
The proposal for “parity parties” when the New Zealand dollar equals the Australian dollar in market value is typical of the bizarre economic thinking by some in the financial sector. The last time parity was attained was in November 1967. Since then consumer prices have risen 12.8 times (i.e. 1180 percent) in New Zealand, while they have risen 8.1 times in Australia. While the consumer price index is not a perfect measure of inflation, the gap between our price levels remains substantial. An OECD study in 1990 found the New Zealand dollar could buy the same as 86 Australia cents. Allowing for the differential inflation rates since the figure is probably about 88 cents today.
This is a revised version of the paper presented to the Stout Research Centre Wednesday Seminar, 9 August, 1995. Other versions are ‘Piggy in the Middle’ Metro August 1996, p.82-7, and ‘Muldoon, Robert’ in R. Robinson & N. Wattie (eds) The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, Auckland, p.384-5.
Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History;
Bill Pearson’s 1952 Landfall essay “Fretful Sleepers: A Sketch of New Zealand Behaviour and its Implications for the Artist” argues:
“No people is easier for governing. Though `Hitler’ and `dictator’ are common as terms of abuse (usually applied to a foreman who puts production before sociability) there is a lurking respect for the dictator because he has all the authority and gets things done. When the Upper House went no one cared. It was only workers of the big unions, and the watersiders themselves, who were concerned at Mr Holland’s emergency regulations, and a few intellectuals. Fascism has long been a danger potential in New Zealand. Of course fascism does not just occur: it is a deliberate strategy used by money-makers threatened with social discontent. But in countries nominally democratic, fascists have first to prepare the ground. In New Zealand the ground is already prepared for these conditions: a docile sleepy electorate, veneration of war-heros, a willingness to persecute those who don’t conform, gullibility in the face of headlines and radio peptalks.” (p.3-4) [1]
How Does the State of Major Economies Affect Us?
Listener: 5 August, 1995.
Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money;
The world economy is not in robust state. Some of leading commentators are muttering about the fragility of the Japanese economy and stagnation in the US one. There is usually one major economy which is worrying, but my concerns here are more about the fundamentals, most notably the very high world real interest rates.
Seminar presentation at the NZIER, 2 August, 1995.
Keywords: Distributional Economics; Maori; Political Economy & History; Social Policy;
The seminar is the result of an invitation by the director of the NZIER, John Yeabsley, to describe some of my work with the Maori, especially in terms of the challenges I have experienced as a research economist and social statistician. The material presented here is primarily that which is on public record. Some confidential work is omitted. However while it is of interest and has been challenging, the work broadly covers the same areas as are in my public record. Some very small projects are also omitted.
New Zealand Economic Papers, August 1995, p.89-101.(1)
Kewords: Distributional Economics;
Abstract: This paper is a response to “Assessing Income Adequacy in New Zealand”, by Edith Brashares. Despite the paper’s claim to involve “empirical” assessment, her methods rely primarily on not very plausible assumptions. This paper reviews them, reaffirms the main New Zealand development of the assessment of income adequacy which the original paper all but ignored, and concludes with a brief discussion on the role of introspective analysis in economic science and social policy.
