This report summarises the findings from case studies of four significant New Zealand industries: Dairy (both farming and processing), Health technology (HealthTech), Horticulture (with a focus on kiwifruit and wine) and Software products and services (Software). The four case studies have identified various opportunities for improving productivity, some industry-specific and some generic.

The present paper addresses the question of how to estimate a social welfare function defined over inflation and unemployment that can help inform the policy decisions of central banks by providing a way to measure the well-being costs arising from macroeconomic fluctuations.

The scope of local government in New Zealand and its sources of revenue (mainly property taxes) are much more constrained than in most other high-income countries. This paper compares New Zealand with other high-income countries in the distribution of functions across central and local government, and in the sources of funding for local government.