Media Release: The Mystery of the $52 Billion Gift: Does New Zealand have a fairy godmother?
Wellington (Thursday, 14 March 2024) - A new research note by The New Zealand Initiative is questioning how New Zealand has managed to sustain its large and growing current account deficits with the rest of the world without seeing a corresponding deterioration in its net international investment position (NIIP).
The research note, “The Mystery of the $52 Billion Gift: Does New Zealand have a fairy godmother?” highlights that while New Zealand has been spending more overseas than it earns, the country’s liabilities to the rest of the world have not increased nearly as much as one would expect. Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.
“This raises the question of who has been funding our excess spending, and for how long will they continue to do so?” Wilkinson said.
Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have made a significant contribution to funding that $158 billion. “We do not want more natural disasters, so we can hope this source of funding is temporary”, continued Dr Wilkinson.
But the big mystery is who has been funding the $52 billion that Statistics New Zealand has had to attribute to “errors and omissions”. This discrepancy is even more pronounced in the past two years, with $36 billion of the $62 billion current account deficit seemingly funded by mysterious sources.
Ideally, errors and omissions should be small and average out at zero over such a long period. Australia’s corresponding statistics for “errors and omissions” are much closer to this ideal.
“Every New Zealander has an interest in knowing who is really funding our deficit spending,” Wilkinson emphasised. “Our current standard of living might not be as robust as we might think.”
“We need Statistics New Zealand to get on top of the possible answers to this $52 billion question,” Wilkinson concluded. “Who is funding what, and how sustainable is it likely to be”?
“I, for one, would prefer Statistics New Zealand to be allowed to make this a funding priority, compared to some of the other priorities forced on it in recent years,” he concluded.
The New Zealand Initiative’s research note The mystery of the $52 billion gift: Does New Zealand have a fairy godmother? by Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson is available from the New Zealand Initiative website here.
ENDS
Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson is available for comment. To schedule an interview, please contact:
Jamuel Enriquez, Marketing and Communications Manager
E: jamuel.enriquez@nzinitiative.org.nz
P: 021 022 34451
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About The New Zealand Initiative
The New Zealand Initiative is an evidence-based think tank and research institute contributing to public policy discussion.
Supported by the nation’s leading visionaries, business leaders and political thinkers, we are committed to making New Zealand a better country for all its citizens with a world-class education system, affordable housing, a healthy environment, sound public finances and a stable currency.
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