Measuring Economic Growth in New Zealand

This paper examines New Zealand’s ranking in the OECD based on real GDP per capita. The fall in ranking experienced by New Zealand implies that real GDP per capita growth in New Zealand has been relatively poor in comparison to other OECD countries. The paper examines the history of New Zealand’s growth rate and explores the differences between various techniques for measuring average growth rates. The approaches are all shown to be variants of the average annual growth rate but differ in terms of the weighting structure used. Ultimately, the most appropriate technique depends on the underlying data generating process. The implications of data construction techniques for measured growth rates are discussed and differences between the growth rates obtained from different data sources are illustrated. The paper also illustrates the sensitivity of New Zealand growth rates to the sample period chosen.Economic Growth; Measuring Growth; International Comparisons

Deprivation in New Zealand: Regional Patterns and Changes

This paper presents an analysis of the distribution of socio- economic deprivation throughout New Zealand. The analysis focuses on the three census years 1986, 1991, and 1996. A summary deprivation measure is constructed which approximates New ZealandDep96 using standard regression techniques. The paper extends a static analysis of deprivation by examining changes to the deprivation profile across time on a regional basis. Differences in the incidence of deprivation for different ethnic groups are emphasised. Maori and Pacific people are more likely to live in deprived meshblocks than their European counterparts. We also touch on the role isolation plays in determining the distribution of deprivation.deprivation; inequality; distribution; meshblocks; regions

Productivity Measurement: Alternative Approaches and Estimates

This paper provides a review of conceptual and methodological issues in measuring productivity. Attention is given to the concept of productivity and the relationship between productivity and technological change. Different approaches to measuring productivity are surveyed and the results from a number of NZ productivity studies are summarised. The availability of appropriate input and output data is essential for the accurate measurement of productivity and therefore this paper also discusses some important data issues that influence productivity measurement.Productivity; Measurement Issues; New Zealand; Technological Change

What do foxes do at night?

Foxes are often labelled as ruthless killers of lambs, kid goats and poultry. However, studies of the incidence of predation on lambs and kids have shown that foxes generally kill less than 3 per cent of lambs and 3 to 5 per cent of kids, Are foxes, therefore, killers of lambs and kid goats, or just timid scavengers? This article provides an insight into the behaviour of foxes in lambing and kidding paddocks at the Department of Agriculture\u27s Avondale Research Station, Beverley, and near Moora, during 1987 and 1988

Modelling Regional Labour Market Adjustment in New Zealand

This paper adopts a vector autoregressive (VAR) approach to analyse the labour market adjustment mechanisms for 12 New Zealand regions over the period 1985 to 2001. It examines the effects of a region-specific shock to employment on itself, the unemployment rate, the participation rate, and the wage rate. The role of migration as a channel of regional labour market adjustment is also inferred. We find that adjustment occurs predominantly through inter-regional migration although the unemployment and participation rates also play a role. Wages, on the other hand, account for very little adjustment. The importance of inter-regional migration in New Zealand matches the results found in Sweden, but stands in contrast to the picture in many European countries. Migration appears to be a more dominant adjustment channel compared to the US and Australian cases. However, this has to be placed into context – New Zealand regions are much smaller in terms of population size.Regional labour market adjustment; Internal migration

Are foxes serious predators of stock?

Commercial farming of goats for mohair, cashmere and meat production is a rapidly developing industry in the south-west of Western Australia. In this article, the authors discuss the results of two studies conducted by the Agriculture Protection Board in which the levels of predation of kids and lambs by foxes in commercial goat flocks, and an experimental multiple-birth genotype sheep flock in the southwest of Western Australia, were measured

LATE DEVONIAN-TOURNAISIAN CONODONTS FROM THE EASTERN KHYBER REGION, NORTH-WEST PAKISTAN

Conodonts (62 species and subspecies) from acid-leaching of 226 samples from four sections through the Ali Masjid Formation west of Misri Khel in the former South Khyber Agency, north-west Pakistan, are documented by illustrations and distributional data. These indicate that most of this unit, at least in that area, spans the interval Middle crepida Zone (low in the Famennian) to at least Early crenulata Zone (mid-Tournaisian), though a fauna from low in one of the sections produced conodonts indicative of the Late falsiovalis Zone (early Frasnian). Two major hiatuses are inferred: between the Late falsiovalis and Middle crepida zones, and between the Late expansa and Early duplicata zones. Coherence of the conodont biostratigraphy accords with lithologic alignments between the sections. &nbsp

Leading co-production in five UK collaborative research partnerships (2008–2018): responses to four tensions from senior leaders using auto-ethnography

Background: Despite growing enthusiasm for co-production in healthcare services and research, research on co-production practices is lacking. Multiple frameworks, guidelines and principles are available but little empirical research is conducted on ‘how to do’ co-production of research to improve healthcare services. This paper brings together insights from UK-based collaborative research partnerships on leading co-production. Its aim is to inform practical guidance for new partnerships planning to facilitate the co-production of applied health research in the future. Methods: Using an auto-ethnographic approach, experiential evidence was elicited through collective sense making from recorded conversations between the research team and senior leaders of five UK-based collaborative research partnerships. This approach applies a cultural analysis and interpretation of the leaders’ behaviours, thoughts and experiences of co-production taking place in 2008–2018 and involving academics, health practitioners, policy makers and representatives of third sector organisations. Results: The findings highlight a variety of practices across CLAHRCs, whereby the intersection between the senior leaders’ vision and local organisational context in which co-production occurs largely determines the nature of co-production process and outcomes. We identified four tensions in doing co-production: (1) idealistic, tokenistic vs realistic narratives, (2) power differences and (lack of) reciprocity, (3) excluding vs including language and communication, (4) individual motivation vs structural issues. Conclusions: The tensions were productive in helping collaborative research partnerships to tailor co-production practices to their local needs and opportunities. Resulting variation in co-production practices across partnerships can therefore be seen as highly advantageous creative adaptation, which makes us question the utility of seeking a unified ‘gold standard’ of co-production. Strategic leadership is an important starting point for finding context-tailored solutions; however, development of more distributed forms of leadership over time is needed to facilitate co-production practices between partners. Facilitating structures for co-production can enable power sharing and boost capacity and capability building, resulting in more inclusive language and communication and, ultimately, more credible practices of co-production in research. We provide recommendations for creating more realistic narratives around co-production and facilitating power sharing between partners