What drives economic growth in New Zealand? How has New Zealand been impacted by globalization and the financial crisis? What will shape future productivity and competitiveness? In this book, leading economists assemble key data to provide an analytical introduction to the contemporary New Zealand economy. Interpreting key economic indicators over time—gross domestic product and interest rates, population, employment and productivity levels, trade and investment, and government accounts—this examination focuses particularly on two issues: globalization and the rise of the Asian economies during the past 30 years, and the origins and continuing effects of the 2007&–08 global financial crisis. Rich with local data and case studies, this is a clear and concise assessment of the current structure and performance of New Zealand's economy from a historical and global perspective.

Jane Kelsey’s exploration of the effects of globalisation on the New Zealand economy was eye-opening when published in 1999. She offered a trenchantly expressed response to the neoliberal slogan of the time, ‘There is no alternative.’ Kelsey’s analysis remains a critical yardstick for current policies and an alternative perspective on the development of global relationships. The recent global financial meltdown and subsequent recession give new relevance to her questions about globalisation’s consequences for sovereignty and democracy. Kelsey continues to offer a bold voice of challenge and critique, pointing the way for open-eyed engagement with the economic realities of the future.

New Zealand and the Global Economy looks at New Zealand's international economic relations over the past fifty years. The book analyses the changing nature of New Zealand's trade relations with the rest of the world, and shows how this has been an important engine for growth and development of New Zealand's economy and society. As well as the trade in goods, the book explores the growing importance of trade in services, and the inflows of capital and labour. It looks at relations with countries such as Australia, Japan, the United States and other countries in the Asia Pacific region. International trade relations have changed over time, reflecting a shift in the attitudes of both the Government and New Zealanders to the world and how they see their place in it.

The FIRE economy – built on finance, insurance and real estate – is now the world’s principal source of wealth creation. Its rise has transformed our political, economic and social landscapes, supported by a neoliberal regime that celebrates markets, profit and risk. From rising inequality and ballooning household debt to a global financial crisis and fiscal austerity, the neoliberal ‘orthodoxy’ has brought instability and empowered the few. Yet it remains remarkably resilient, even resurgent, in New Zealand and abroad. In 1995 Jane Kelsey set out a groundbreaking account of the neoliberal revolution in The New Zealand Experiment. Now she marshals an exceptional range of evidence to show how this transfer of wealth and power has been systematically embedded over three decades. Today organisations and commentators once at the vanguard of neoliberal reform, including the IMF and Financial Times journalist Martin Wolf, are warning the current model is unsustainable. A post-neoliberal era beckons. In The FIRE Economy Kelsey identifies the risks posed by FIRE and the barriers embedded neoliberalism presents to a progressive, post-neoliberal transformation – and urges us to act. This is a book New Zealand cannot afford to ignore.

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with an overview of New Zealand's international relations. It is a country that has often shown an international presence that is out of proportion to the modest spectrum of national economic, military and diplomatic capabilities at its disposal.In this volume, the editors have called upon a range of specialists representing a range of views drawn from the worlds of academia, policy-making, and civil society. It is an attempt to present a rounded picture of New Zealand's place in the world, one that does not rely exclusively on any particular perspective. The book does not claim to be exhaustive. But it does seek to present a more wide-ranging treatment of New Zealand's foreign relations than has generally been the case in the past.Five broad themes help shape and organize the contributions to the text:

"Whether we like it or not New Zealand is being increasingly linked into the world economy. Trade in goods, services, capital -- and the movement of people -- has become international ... This study gives a broad view of the process of globalisation and how it affects New Zealand. It looks at the links between trade in goods, services and capital, as well as the movement of people. It also raises some important issues: Is foreign investment increasing and, if so, is this good for New Zealand? Is the concept of "New Zealand made" valid any longer? How have the power balances shifted between consumers and producers, between government, businesses and communities, and between individual and groups of nations? Should barriers to the outside world be further reduced, particularly in the areas of foreign investment and the movement of people? How can New Zealand return to a "fully employed, high income society within an open, internationally competitive environment? This report does not attempt to answer all these questions, but sets the scene for more detailed analysis ... global issues are not just the concern of governments. Removing the barriers to the outside world means that everyone -- from policy-makers in firms, schools, and regional government, to iwi and individual households -- needs to understand the process of globalisation if we are to take advantage of it ..." -- Introduction (pages 1-2).