Domestic factors, including economic strengths
As outlined in the previous section, global trends will interact with New Zealand-specific factors, including our geography, demography, culture, institutions, capabilities and economic strengths.
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New Zealand has many economic strengths that have supported our productivity
Compared to other countries, New Zealand economic strengths include the following:[1]
- Persistent strengths in fundamental institutions (rule of law, low corruption), social capital and trust, natural environment and beauty, a climate conducive to agriculture and the reputation for being a constructive voice in international trade policy and international affairs.
- Strong capabilities in agriculture and biological sciences, and earth and environmental sciences.[2]
- A comparative advantage in products directly or indirectly related to agriculture and international tourism, reflecting New Zealand’s underlying strengths in these areas.[3]
- Close economic integration with our nearest, largest neighbour Australia through the Closer Economic Relationship / Single Economic Market agenda, which in turn has provided a platform for our economic relationships with the wider world.
- Unique strengths of Māori culture, Māori customary practices or behaviours (tikanga) and Māori knowledge (mātauranga).
- The values and culture of Pacific peoples and other diverse population groups.
How we build on these strengths to respond to the global trends will also determine our future productivity performance.
Question 4
Which are the most important domestic factors, including New Zealand’s economic strengths, that the Briefing should consider?
Footnotes
[1] Pells, S. (2022): New Zealand’s areas of (economic) strength: A literature review [PDF, 697 KB]
[2] MBIE: The Research, Science and Innovation Report – 2021(external link).
[3] Baigent, D. (2022): New Zealand’s Export Advantage: Composition and performance of New Zealand’s comparative advantages from 1995-2018 [PDF, 1.4 MB]