This month we welcome Kelvin Davidson into our team of economists. Kelvin is Christchurch-based and contributes this month with an article about what is happening in the Canterbury economy, with a special focus on districts surrounding Christchurch such as Waimakariri.
Kelvin has a long history with Infometrics and it feels like he’s come full circle. Read more about what he will be doing at Infometrics in our regular feature “A day in the life of an economist”.
Hilary Parker examines how New Zealand’s adoption of electric vehicles will be a key component to meet targets under the Paris Climate agreement.
And finally, Brad Olsen gives a round-up of what the new Budget means for you.
Although the Crusaders are leaving everybody in their wake in Super Rugby, unfortunately the Canterbury economy isn’t matching those standards. Our provisional estimate is that the region’s GDP growth rate in the year to March 2017 was 0.9%, the lowest figure for five years. In fact, Canterbury is now at the bottom of the GDP growth league for all regions across New Zealand – lagging behind next-lowest Southland (1.0%) and table-topping Tasman (4.1%).
Having recently worked both in London and for Canterbury Development Corporation, Kelvin has extensive experience of property market analysis, both residential and commercial, and from an investment and development perspective. He has a thorough understanding of the issues and constraints faced by regional policy and decision makers.
Electric vehicles have been earmarked as a key component to meet targets under the Paris Climate agreement, according to a new report released by The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) in April.
Steven Joyce’s first budget – and National’s ninth since it took up the government benches in late 2008 – set the tone for the election campaign to come, maintaining a rosy outlook for New Zealand. Although the Minister of Finance refuses to call it a “lolly scramble”, it is undeniable that New Zealand’s solid economic growth performance has left the government with the ability to start writing bigger cheques, announcing increased spending across a range of areas.
