Pub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1585386
M. Fernandez
ABSTRACT The current policy focus to improve housing affordability in New Zealand is reflected in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity (NPSUDC), which prescribes that local governments must ensure there is sufficient housing capacity to meet demand. Though some households may benefit because of better purchase conditions, additional capacity may not have a significant impact on improving affordability. In this paper, I explore how additional housing capacity is matched with demand by setting up a housing allocation model to simulate competition between potential buyers as they bid for any additional unit. I found that rate of take-up differs across scenarios, and households that manage to buy a house have median incomes that are more than double than the median household income in Auckland. Hence, overall affordability does not improve for medium or low-income households. The model and results provide insights about the outcomes of the NPSUDC and support the development of other housing programs.
{"title":"A matching simulation to assess additional housing capacity in Auckland","authors":"M. Fernandez","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1585386","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1585386","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The current policy focus to improve housing affordability in New Zealand is reflected in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity (NPSUDC), which prescribes that local governments must ensure there is sufficient housing capacity to meet demand. Though some households may benefit because of better purchase conditions, additional capacity may not have a significant impact on improving affordability. In this paper, I explore how additional housing capacity is matched with demand by setting up a housing allocation model to simulate competition between potential buyers as they bid for any additional unit. I found that rate of take-up differs across scenarios, and households that manage to buy a house have median incomes that are more than double than the median household income in Auckland. Hence, overall affordability does not improve for medium or low-income households. The model and results provide insights about the outcomes of the NPSUDC and support the development of other housing programs.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"54 1","pages":"67 - 88"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1585386","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46645694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1631878
Michael Rehm, K. Cheung, O. Filippova, D. Patel
ABSTRACT Stigma has been identified as perceived risks in subsiding the value of properties which are actually or potentially defective. Legal claims are often made under the assumption that remediation itself invokes a form of stigma. This study aims to determine whether this purported post-remediation stigma is a genuine phenomenon or not. In New Zealand, ‘leaky homes’ are defective properties suffering from systemic weathertightness failures. These properties are strongly associated with particular architectural features such as monolithic cladding. These cladding systems attract the general market stigma, which stereotypes all monolithic-clad dwellings, irrespective of leaks or remediation. Using hedonic pricing models, we find that the value of remediated leaky homes is on par with unaffected dwellings. The results stay robust under different model specifications with various counterfactuals used. This challenges the assertion that remediation is a source of stigma.
{"title":"Stigma, risk perception and the remediation of leaky homes in New Zealand","authors":"Michael Rehm, K. Cheung, O. Filippova, D. Patel","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1631878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1631878","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Stigma has been identified as perceived risks in subsiding the value of properties which are actually or potentially defective. Legal claims are often made under the assumption that remediation itself invokes a form of stigma. This study aims to determine whether this purported post-remediation stigma is a genuine phenomenon or not. In New Zealand, ‘leaky homes’ are defective properties suffering from systemic weathertightness failures. These properties are strongly associated with particular architectural features such as monolithic cladding. These cladding systems attract the general market stigma, which stereotypes all monolithic-clad dwellings, irrespective of leaks or remediation. Using hedonic pricing models, we find that the value of remediated leaky homes is on par with unaffected dwellings. The results stay robust under different model specifications with various counterfactuals used. This challenges the assertion that remediation is a source of stigma.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"54 1","pages":"105 - 89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1631878","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44774934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-12-18DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1703792
V. Hall, C. McDermott
We examine the question of whether the rate of business insolvencies in New Zealand is related to overall macroeconomic conditions. In particular, our interest is in whether the rate of business insolvencies changed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We find that there was a large increase in insolvencies in New Zealand following the onset of the GFC in 2008. We also find that the timing of the change did not occur uniformly over the country but occurred at different times in four key regional centres. Sharply rising relative costs were the most important macroeconomic factor influencing corporate insolvencies in New Zealand, Auckland, Waikato and Wellington, but have been immaterial in determining New Zealand's total personal insolvencies. It is employment growth and house price inflation that have been significant in explaining total personal insolvencies.
{"title":"Changes in New Zealand's business insolvency rates after the GFC","authors":"V. Hall, C. McDermott","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1703792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1703792","url":null,"abstract":"We examine the question of whether the rate of business insolvencies in New Zealand is related to overall macroeconomic conditions. In particular, our interest is in whether the rate of business insolvencies changed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We find that there was a large increase in insolvencies in New Zealand following the onset of the GFC in 2008. We also find that the timing of the change did not occur uniformly over the country but occurred at different times in four key regional centres. Sharply rising relative costs were the most important macroeconomic factor influencing corporate insolvencies in New Zealand, Auckland, Waikato and Wellington, but have been immaterial in determining New Zealand's total personal insolvencies. It is employment growth and house price inflation that have been significant in explaining total personal insolvencies.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"55 1","pages":"173 - 187"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1703792","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44700289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-12-07DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1697729
S. Jenkins
How to undertake distributional comparisons when personal well-being is measured using income is well-established. But what if personal well-being is measured using subjective well-being indicators such as life satisfaction or self-assessed health status? Has average well-being increased or well-being inequality decreased? How does the distribution of well-being in New Zealand compare with that in Australia, or between young and old people in New Zealand? This paper addresses questions such as these, stimulated by the increasing weight put on subjective well-being measures by international agencies such as the OECD and national governments including New Zealand’s. The paper reviews the methods appropriate for distributional comparisons in the ordinal data context, comparing them with those routinely used for comparisons of income distributions. The methods are illustrated using data from the World Values Survey.
{"title":"Better off? Distributional comparisons for ordinal data about personal well-being","authors":"S. Jenkins","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1697729","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1697729","url":null,"abstract":"How to undertake distributional comparisons when personal well-being is measured using income is well-established. But what if personal well-being is measured using subjective well-being indicators such as life satisfaction or self-assessed health status? Has average well-being increased or well-being inequality decreased? How does the distribution of well-being in New Zealand compare with that in Australia, or between young and old people in New Zealand? This paper addresses questions such as these, stimulated by the increasing weight put on subjective well-being measures by international agencies such as the OECD and national governments including New Zealand’s. The paper reviews the methods appropriate for distributional comparisons in the ordinal data context, comparing them with those routinely used for comparisons of income distributions. The methods are illustrated using data from the World Values Survey.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"54 1","pages":"211 - 238"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1697729","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42011558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-11-04DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1684349
Ch’ng Kean-Siang, S. Narayanan, Tan Scaik Lin
This paper examines gender differences in evaluating the probability and the outcome (payoff) of a risky prospect, when making a decision in both the gain and loss domains in Malaysia. Our study adds to the small but growing literature on experimental studies in a non-Western context. We found that in evaluating the probability of a risky project, females appear to be more risk averse than males in the lotteries for which both genders were risk averse but seem to be more risk-seeking than males in lotteries for which both genders were predominantly risk-seeking. This was the case in both the loss and gain domains. In evaluating the outcome of risky projects, our results suggest that although both genders exhibit diminishing sensitivity to outcome/payoff of lotteries in both the loss and gain domains, the curvature in both domains was not significantly different for both genders. These findings are consistent with studies elsewhere and do not indicate that cultural contexts influence gender reactions to risk.
{"title":"Gender differences in weighing probability and payoffs in risky prospects: experimental evidence from Malaysia","authors":"Ch’ng Kean-Siang, S. Narayanan, Tan Scaik Lin","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1684349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1684349","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines gender differences in evaluating the probability and the outcome (payoff) of a risky prospect, when making a decision in both the gain and loss domains in Malaysia. Our study adds to the small but growing literature on experimental studies in a non-Western context. We found that in evaluating the probability of a risky project, females appear to be more risk averse than males in the lotteries for which both genders were risk averse but seem to be more risk-seeking than males in lotteries for which both genders were predominantly risk-seeking. This was the case in both the loss and gain domains. In evaluating the outcome of risky projects, our results suggest that although both genders exhibit diminishing sensitivity to outcome/payoff of lotteries in both the loss and gain domains, the curvature in both domains was not significantly different for both genders. These findings are consistent with studies elsewhere and do not indicate that cultural contexts influence gender reactions to risk.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"55 1","pages":"263 - 276"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1684349","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47555198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-26DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1665574
J. Creedy, N. Gemmell, A. Laws
This paper reports estimates of simple models of income dynamics, using longitudinal income data for 1994 to 2012 from New Zealand Inland Revenue. Income changes are described using a simple autoregressive stochastic process in which Galtonian regression is combined with serial correlation in the stochastic term. The parameters of the model have convenient interpretations. Substantial regression towards the mean combined with negative serial correlation is observed, with remarkable parameter stability over the whole period. The estimates imply that, on average, relatively high income individuals have lower proportional increases in income from year to year compared with lower income individuals, and those with large increases in one year are more likely to experience decreases the following year. These dynamics are shown to be sufficient to ensure that cross-sectional indices of inequality fall as the accounting period increases.
{"title":"Relative income dynamics of individuals in New Zealand","authors":"J. Creedy, N. Gemmell, A. Laws","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1665574","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1665574","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports estimates of simple models of income dynamics, using longitudinal income data for 1994 to 2012 from New Zealand Inland Revenue. Income changes are described using a simple autoregressive stochastic process in which Galtonian regression is combined with serial correlation in the stochastic term. The parameters of the model have convenient interpretations. Substantial regression towards the mean combined with negative serial correlation is observed, with remarkable parameter stability over the whole period. The estimates imply that, on average, relatively high income individuals have lower proportional increases in income from year to year compared with lower income individuals, and those with large increases in one year are more likely to experience decreases the following year. These dynamics are shown to be sufficient to ensure that cross-sectional indices of inequality fall as the accounting period increases.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"55 1","pages":"203 - 220"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1665574","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44205656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2018.1458330
N. Gemmell, D. Gill, L. Nguyen
ABSTRACT Historical data on various measures of the economic size of the public sector in New Zealand suggest considerable short-term variability and hint at a number of possible longer-term trends. Focusing on a public expenditure measure, this paper asks how far established models of government size can ‘explain’ those changes in New Zealand since the 1970s? Based on three separate strands in the international public finance, public choice and public administration literatures, we specify and test three distinct econometric models. We then combine those to consider whether any one model dominates or a more eclectic explanation finds support. Our empirical testing over 1972–2015 reveals that both public finance and public choice variables offer insight into changes in government expenditure in New Zealand. Additionally, suitably capturing short-term dynamics turns out to be important for reliable estimation of longer-term trends in government expenditure.
{"title":"Modelling public expenditure growth in New Zealand, 1972–2015","authors":"N. Gemmell, D. Gill, L. Nguyen","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2018.1458330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2018.1458330","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Historical data on various measures of the economic size of the public sector in New Zealand suggest considerable short-term variability and hint at a number of possible longer-term trends. Focusing on a public expenditure measure, this paper asks how far established models of government size can ‘explain’ those changes in New Zealand since the 1970s? Based on three separate strands in the international public finance, public choice and public administration literatures, we specify and test three distinct econometric models. We then combine those to consider whether any one model dominates or a more eclectic explanation finds support. Our empirical testing over 1972–2015 reveals that both public finance and public choice variables offer insight into changes in government expenditure in New Zealand. Additionally, suitably capturing short-term dynamics turns out to be important for reliable estimation of longer-term trends in government expenditure.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"53 1","pages":"215 - 244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2018.1458330","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48105966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-13DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1653555
Mark J. Holmes
{"title":"Citation for Stephen Jenkins to mark his Distinguished Fellow award by the New Zealand Association of Economists","authors":"Mark J. Holmes","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1653555","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1653555","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"53 1","pages":"315 - 316"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1653555","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46579254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-09DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2019.1612937
A. Grimes, Kade Sorensen, C. Young
ABSTRACT Accurate analysis of housing markets requires the use of an appropriate house price index. We compare the properties of two common repeat sales house price indices [Bailey, Muth and Nourse (BMN) and Case-nd Shiller (CS)] with those of Gao and Wang’s unbalanced panel (UP) approach. Using data across three differing housing markets within New Zealand, the three indices produce similar measures of house price movements. When evaluated using separate training and testing sub-samples of the data, none of the three measures is unambiguously superior to the others. When we test properties using simulated data with alternative data generation processes, a clear result emerges: The CS method is clearly superior when relative house prices follow an actual or near random walk; otherwise the UP method is (slightly) superior. Thus researchers should consider the time series properties of their data when choosing a method of house price index construction.
摘要准确分析住房市场需要使用合适的房价指数。我们比较了两个常见的重复销售房价指数[BBailey,Muth and Nourse(BMN)和Case nd Shiller(CS)]与高和王的不平衡面板(UP)方法的性质。利用新西兰三个不同住房市场的数据,这三个指数对房价走势产生了类似的衡量标准。当使用单独的训练和测试数据的子样本进行评估时,这三种测量方法中没有一种明显优于其他方法。当我们使用模拟数据和其他数据生成过程来测试房产时,会出现一个明确的结果:当相对房价跟随实际或近乎随机的波动时,CS方法显然更优越;否则UP方法(稍微)优越。因此,研究人员在选择房价指数构建方法时,应考虑其数据的时间序列特性。
{"title":"Repeat sales house price indices: comparative properties under alternative data generation processes","authors":"A. Grimes, Kade Sorensen, C. Young","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2019.1612937","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2019.1612937","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Accurate analysis of housing markets requires the use of an appropriate house price index. We compare the properties of two common repeat sales house price indices [Bailey, Muth and Nourse (BMN) and Case-nd Shiller (CS)] with those of Gao and Wang’s unbalanced panel (UP) approach. Using data across three differing housing markets within New Zealand, the three indices produce similar measures of house price movements. When evaluated using separate training and testing sub-samples of the data, none of the three measures is unambiguously superior to the others. When we test properties using simulated data with alternative data generation processes, a clear result emerges: The CS method is clearly superior when relative house prices follow an actual or near random walk; otherwise the UP method is (slightly) superior. Thus researchers should consider the time series properties of their data when choosing a method of house price index construction.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"55 1","pages":"7 - 18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2019.1612937","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47514975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-04DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2017.1419501
Will C. C. Wright, P. Brown
ABSTRACT Farms in New Zealand are traditionally run as family businesses in which land and capital are handed down from one generation to the next. Such family businesses have time horizons that are measured in generations rather than years, and the identification of a successor encourages long-term planning that farms without successors cannot justify. Simultaneously, farms that invest in productive capital have higher future earnings potential, ceteris paribus, and therefore be more attractive to potential successors. Both of these relationships imply a correlation between succession planning and investment. In this paper we separate the causal effect succession planning has on investment using two-stage ordered probit regression with instrumental variables, namely, the extent farmers report they farm due to family tradition and the number of generations that the family has farmed in New Zealand. Our results show that the presence of a successor does in fact raise investment.
{"title":"Succession and investment in New Zealand farming","authors":"Will C. C. Wright, P. Brown","doi":"10.1080/00779954.2017.1419501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00779954.2017.1419501","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Farms in New Zealand are traditionally run as family businesses in which land and capital are handed down from one generation to the next. Such family businesses have time horizons that are measured in generations rather than years, and the identification of a successor encourages long-term planning that farms without successors cannot justify. Simultaneously, farms that invest in productive capital have higher future earnings potential, ceteris paribus, and therefore be more attractive to potential successors. Both of these relationships imply a correlation between succession planning and investment. In this paper we separate the causal effect succession planning has on investment using two-stage ordered probit regression with instrumental variables, namely, the extent farmers report they farm due to family tradition and the number of generations that the family has farmed in New Zealand. Our results show that the presence of a successor does in fact raise investment.","PeriodicalId":38921,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Economic Papers","volume":"53 1","pages":"203 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00779954.2017.1419501","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41670642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}