Notes prepared for an informal presentation (June 2004)
Keywords: Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History;
The ‘Growth Culture’ report of the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board (on which I am on) raises major questions about the direction of economic policy. The survey had been commissioned to understand how the public could be involved more effectively in the economic growth strategy. However their responses firmly indicated that the large majority of the public had objectives which were different from those espoused by the nation’s economic leadership.
Notes for a chapter in a book Leadership and Political Change (June 2004)
Keywords: Political Economy & History;
My book, The Nationbuilders, described a particular phase in New Zealand’s economic and political history, between 1932 when Gordon Coates became Minister of Finance and the election of the Labour Government in 1984. It describes a group of (mainly) men embarking upon a strategy of developing an independent nation with its own economy and culture but engaging with the rest of the world. I told the story through their biographies, but it could have been told other ways, through historical sequence or policy themes for instance, or with more biographies, had there been the space.
Listener: 26 June 2004.
Keywords: Globalisation & Trade;
Economists have traditionally divided the economy into the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The justification is long forgotten, but geographically, the primary sector – farming, fishing, forestry and mining – had to be close to the resources it processes, while the tertiary sector – services are the most prominent – had to be near its customers. Secondary – manufacturing – had more locational choice, which is why much policy was directed towards influencing its location. The categorisation was never perfect. Tourism is in the service sector, but it brings its customers to its location. Perhaps it should be reclassified as primary. Other service activities – the education of foreign students – also bring the customer to them. But in recent years, other chunks of the service industry have gone walkabout, as telecommunications costs have collapsed.
Listener 12 June 2004.
Keywords: Globalisation & Trade;
Other than the New Zealand embassy, it was the only occasion I entered an official building in America without having to showing an identity card. For Congress (the American parliament) is insistent that little should come between them and their constituents. (But yes, there was the metal detector.)
