The New Zealand Productivity Commission is an independent Crown entity whose purpose is "to provide advice to the Government on improving productivity in a way that is directed to supporting the overall wellbeing of New Zealanders, having regard to a wide range of communities of interest and population groups in New Zealand society.
From 1938, Aotearoa New Zealand health policy committed to providing free universal access to secondary healthcare. This approach initially worked for all citizens except Māori and Pacific peoples, who had different unmet needs. From the 1980s, as a neoliberal agenda spread, it became clear that action was needed to protect the population from the scourge of health as a commodity. Those who could afford to buy healthcare already had better social determinants of health; however, ultimately inadequate legal processes failed to protect many people from the damage to our healthcare systems. The focus should have been on the ultimate goal of universal equity of health outcomes. To rebalance, we define health as a collective and individual legal right. The required laws to thus refresh the social contract should: i) bind rights and responsibilities of government and governed and protect all citizens; and ii) be enshrined against future whims of politicians. We suggest ways forward, including: i) open physician advocacy, starting with the medical colleges; ii) honouring the right of New Zealanders, individually and collectively, to health; iii) adhering to relevant international agreements and national laws; and iv) advancing a codified constitutional legal structure for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Abstract This paper analyses long-term fiscal sustainability with a model which incorporates a number of feedback effects. When fiscal policy responds to ensure long-term sustainability, these feedback effects can potentially modify the intended outcomes by either enhancing or dampening the results of the policy interventions. The feedbacks include the effect on labour supply in response to changes in tax rates, changes in the country risk premium in response to higher public debt ratios, and endogenous changes in the rate of productivity growth and savings that respond to interest rates. A model of government revenue, expenditure and public debt which incorporates these feedbacks is used to simulate the outcome of a range of fiscal policy responses. In addition, the effects of population ageing and productivity growth are explored.
This paper provides an evaluation of the performance of KiwiSaver, a subsidised voluntary savings scheme aimed at increasing the retirement wealth of a target population. Four key dimensions of performance are assessed using a variety of empirical techniques drawing on data from a national survey of 825 people conducted in 2010. Results suggest that only one-third of contributions to KiwiSaver represent additional savings. Regression analysis finds no relationship between KiwiSaver membership and expected retirement income outcomes. Examination of standard measures of programme efficacy such as target effectiveness and leakage suggests that KiwiSaver has been only modestly successful in reaching the target population and that leakage to the non-target population was high, at 93%. Finally, the scheme's possible effect on national saving was examined. In the long run, the effect on net national saving appears marginal at best.
