Too often economic development practitioners have the places they focus on dictated by political geography rather than the economic geography of those they are trying to help. Before beginning any economic development strategy, or even project for that matter, you need to get your geographical perspective right.
I am proud to have supported this documentary produced by Storyworks, with funding from NZ on Air. The documentary looks at the human side of Queenstown's severely unaffordable housing.
This article reflects on economic development philosophy, including comparisons between the Provincial Growth Fund and European funds based on personal experience. It is written by Ceri Macleod, who is Economic Development Coordinator at Gore District Council.
Social issues stemming from deteriorating housing affordability and a lack of new homes have been key topics of debate over recent years. Census 2018 helps show where in New Zealand household occupancy rates have deteriorated the most since 2013.
Jetstar’s withdrawal from the regional market is a blow not just for consumers, but also economic and social development in the provinces.
Questions regarding the future of work have recently focused my attention on understanding the sources of job creation […]
I was recently asked to provide comment on a fantastic article by Jo McKenzie-McLean looking at social issues stemming from Queenstown’s housing situation. My comments highlighted evidence of Queenstown’s burgeoning housing problem leading to a commuter belt forming.
I decided to test whether new or existing businesses are the engine for jobs growth in regional New Zealand. From an economic development perspective, these insights can help inform the extent to which resources should be focused on business attraction or building up resilience of existing enterprises.
Statistics NZ realeased its hotly anticipated Indicators Aotearoa dashboard. The dashboard was supposed to provide more than one hundred indicators of wellbeing, but instead we have been delivered a wireframe - filled with placeholders and patchy actual data.
Houses in New Zealand have gotten expensive, even in off-the-beaten-track communities in the central South and North Islands. Some opportunistic real estate commentators have been quick to attribute these sharp gains to skiers’ demand. In a recent interview, I poured cold water on this logic, and cautioned wannabe investors expecting to make a quick buck from buying a bach in Timbuktu.
The buzzword wellbeing is being bandied about left, right and centre. But how do we put this new theory into practice and what will it mean for our regions. This post explores why wellbeing matters, and how you can use wellbeing ideals in an applied policy setting.
Central Otago District gained 306 Aucklanders in net terms over the four years to June 2017. Behind Auckland, there were also substantial gains to Central Otago’s population from people moving out of Queenstown Lakes.