Household Debt in New Zealand

In recent years, the total debt of the household sector has risen appreciably. This has led to concerns about “excessive” borrowing, and to the possibility that some households may have become unduly vulnerable in the event of unexpected shocks. This paper draws on both aggregate and household level data to assess the extent and composition of household debt; to analyse the distribution of debt in relation to income; to examine the factors associated with high ratios of debt servicing relative to income and consider the extent to which individuals and households are vulnerable to unexpected shocks. Between 1982 and 2007, household debt grew from 33% to 149% of household disposable incomes. However due to the faster growth of assets, net wealth grew from 319% of disposable income in 1982 to 430% by 2002 and 604% by 2007; ie, even before the sharp rise in house prices, the overall balance sheet of households was stronger in 2002 than any time in the previous two decades, despite the increase in debt levels. Mortgages represented about 85% of total liabilities, the balance made up of credit card debt and student loans. Higher absolute debt levels amongst couples were associated with home ownership and higher levels of assets and income. Maori and Pacific Island couples recorded liabilities some $6,500 greater than European couples. The paper defines those as vulnerable as having debt servicing obligations exceeding 30 percent of their gross income. It is estimated that in 6.2% of non-partnered individuals and 8.1% of couples fell into this category in 2004. When the underlying levels of income, asset values and mortgage interest rates were adjusted to correspond to values in 2008, it is estimated that these proportions doubled. Those at risk were defined as having debt servicing obligations exceeding 30 percent of their gross income and, at the same time, recording negative net wealth. In part, negative net wealth arises because of lack of any assets that match the liability of student loans. Some 1.9% of individuals were deemed at risk, falling to 1.5% when student loans were excluded. Student loans distort the net wealth estimates of those holding them as only the liability with no corresponding asset is recorded. When this is allowed for, the share of nonpartnered individuals at risk drops further. The unit record data ended in 2004. However the paper makes projections to 2008. For non-partnered individuals; there was little or no change in our estimate of the proportion with negative net wealth who also had debt servicing costs exceeding 30% of their income (ie, at risk). However for couples our estimate of the proportion at risk rose from 0.8% to 1.1%, corresponding to an increase from about 6,000 to 8,000 families.Household debt; New Zealand; vulnerability

Saving Rates of New Zealanders: A Net Wealth Approach

Reliable estimates of actual household saving rates in New Zealand have proved elusive as existing sources of data have in the past given disparate estimates, making it difficult to reach a consensus of the real rate of household saving. For the first time in New Zealand, however, longitudinal data on the assets and liabilities of households at the unit record level are becoming available from Statistics New Zealand’s multi-year national longitudinal Survey of Family Income and Employment (SoFIE). In this paper we first update estimates from the Reserve Bank’s aggregate data on the household sector (a stock approach) and those from Statistics New Zealand’s national accounts (a flow approach). These continue to give widely different estimates of the overall household saving rate, although both were negative in 2008 and both below their long-run trend values. We then present initial estimates derived from SoFIE by comparing individuals’ net wealth in 2004 with that in 2006 and computing the implied real saving rate on an annual basis. This yielded an overall median estimate of 16%. This is virtually the same as the long-run average annual saving rate measured from the aggregate household balance sheet from RBNZ. Furthermore, the estimated saving rates between 2004 and 2006 for the whole household sector in total are almost identical using RBNZ and SoFIE data. However, it must be stressed that median estimates should be complemented with a measure of dispersion. There is a strikingly wide distribution of saving rates. For example across many categories of individuals around 40% are estimated to have had a decline in net wealth, implying a negative rate of saving. Initial explorations into the reasons for this are undertaken in the paper, but as yet are not fully understood. Measurement errors in the data can account for some of the disparities but much remains for further research. Finally we demonstrate that over the period 2004 to 2006, passive saving in the form of the revaluation of house prices constituted a major part of the total change in net wealth. After removing owner-occupied property as an asset, the median saving rate remained positive at 5%, close to the long run average rate from the aggregate RBNZ data after correcting for changes in house prices.Net wealth; saving; saving rates; unit records; permanent wealth; transitory components; New Zealand

Community Rehabilitation Programs and Organizational Change: A Mentor Guide to Increase Customized Employment Outcomes

[Excerpt] For the purpose of this Guide, customized employment is defined as a process for individualizing the employment relationship between an employee and an employer in ways that meet the needs of both. Customized employment is based on an individualized negotiation between the strengths, conditions and interests of the person with a disability and the identified business needs of the employer or the self-employment business chosen by the job seeker. Job negotiation uses job development or restructuring strategies that result in responsibilities being customized and individually negotiated to fit the requirements of the job

‘Do You Really Want to Live Forever?’: Animism, Death, and the Trouble of Digital Images

This essay examines two works of video art to think through the apparent ‘immortality’ of recorded data and digital images, along with the use of ‘animism’ as a framework to describe the ‘liveliness’ of objects in recent cultural theory. In discussing Cécile B. Evans’ Hyperlinks or it Didn’t Happen (2014) and Korakrit Arunanondchai’s Painting with history in a room filled with people with funny names 3 (2016), we highlight how framings of death and digital images are not uniform, and are often articulated to other cultural beliefs. Yet these beliefs cannot be temporally or spatially opposed in any rigid fashion (as ‘modern’ or ‘premodern’, ‘Western’ or ‘Eastern’), in spite of attempts to suggest a ‘return’ to animism to theorise the agency of objects is an embrace of premodern, non-Western epistemologies and ontologies. The ‘troubled images’ we discuss here should be thought through a sense of ‘trouble’ derived from Donna Haraway: as stirring up, or making cloudy. We aim to further complicate and ‘trouble’ the ethical imperatives of animism (in the work of those like Haraway) given the role of digital media in sustaining or putting into practice the animisms of our present. In doing this, we also advance an ontological argument about data and its relationality, suggesting that data be theorised through tropes of metonymy and synecdoche

Influential Article Review - Understanding the Funding Decisions of Italian SMEs

This paper examines banking and finance. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent a large percentage of the corporate tissue of developed countries, but they do not have adequate attention. In fact, various researchers have focused their studies on larger and well-known companies. This paper aims to investigate the impact of corporate characteristics on the financial choices of SMEs, with a specific focus on agro-food micro companies. Access to finance is vital in business start-up, development, and growth for SMEs, all with hugely different needs and facing different challenges in terms of finance compared to large companies. The lack of equity invested in small enterprises makes them more dependent on other external sources (e.g. bank loans, overdraft, factoring and leasing). The limitations of the paper are the result of its very nature: it is a largely conceptual paper. Empirical research is therefore needed to test and validate the essentially preliminary framework. For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German

Compulsive sexual behavior: A review of the literature

Background and aims Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) is a common disorder featuring repetitive, intrusive and distressing sexual thoughts, urges and behaviors that negatively affect many aspects of an individual’s life. This article reviews the clinical characteristics of CSB, cognitive aspects of the behaviors, and treatment options. Methods We reviewed the literature regarding the clinical aspects of CSB and treatment approaches. Results The literature review of the clinical aspects of CSB demonstrates that there is likely a substantial heterogeneity within the disorder. In addition, the treatment literature lacks sufficient evidence-based approaches to develop a clear treatment algorithm. Conclusions Although discussed in the psychological literature for years, CSB continues to defy easy categorization within mental health. Further research needs to be completed to understand where CSB falls within the psychiatric nosology