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Back to main menuOur Research
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Environment
- Climate change mitigation
- Environmental modelling
- Climate change impacts
- Agricultural economics
- Solutions for Freshwater Management
- Fisheries Management
- Devolution and the Resource Management Act
- Value and Natural Capital
- The Adoption of Environmentally Friendly Technologies in Agriculture
- Policy-Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown
- Transaction Costs and Tradable Permit Markets: The United States Lead Phasedown
- A Case Study for Devolution: The problem of preserving kiwi habitat in the Far North
- Devolution and the New Zealand Resource Management Act
- Urban & regional
- Wellbeing & macro-economics
- Population & labour
- Human rights
- Productivity & innovation
International engagement, exports, and innovation
New Zealand used to have one of the highest standards of living in the world. Over the last twenty years or so, however, we have slipped and now rank around 21st in the OECD. Our productivity is higher than it was, but has not increased as quickly as other countries and our income growth has been slower. In this section we look at how New Zealand can improve its productivity and consequently its well-being.
Our research focus
Motu’s current and recent research in this area includes:
- Looking at the magnitude and causes of higher wage rates paid by foreign owned firms, and whether employees in such firms maintain higher earnings when they move to other firms.
- Whether the productivity performance of NZ-owned firms is affected by the presence of foreign-owned firms.
- The relationship between employment of immigrants and firms’ export behaviour, and between export behaviour and innovation.
Publications
Optimal Defence Structure for a Small Country
Authors: Arthur Grimes | James Rolfe
Article
Small countries may not be able to afford all force elements (army, navy, air-force) operated by larger countries and certainly cannot afford all sub-elements (aircraft carriers, submarines, etc).
This paper provides a framework for a small…
CPI Bias and Real Living Standards in Russia During the Transition
Authors: Trinh Le | John Gibson | Steven Stillman
Article
The economies of the former Soviet Bloc experienced large declines in output during the decade of transition which began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Yet there are many reasons to believe…
People, Books, and Flows of Knowledge: An Economist's Perspective
Author: Isabelle Sin
Presentation
Isabelle Sin represented Motu and Te Punaha Matatini at the University of Auckland-hosted Centre for Mathematical Social Sciences Summer Workshop in December 2014. You can also stream video of Izi's presentation, kindly provided by CMSS.
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Wellington 6142, New Zealand
Phone: 64 4 939 4250
