=
Economic Resilience On The Table After Productivity Commission Paper
According to a recent issues paper released by the Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa, improving New Zealand's economic resilience has become a critical focus due to the continued disruptions in the supply chain. The paper highlights policy challenges and outlines the commission's current thinking on improving the country's economic resilience. Additionally, the recent devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle has emphasized the importance of economic resilience, making it a top concern.
Ganesh Nana, the chair of the commission, highlighted that there has been a significant shift in the global landscape that has impacted New Zealand’s economic resilience. He explained that this change affects multiple aspects of the economy. He went on to include the trading environment, market access to export markets, and the availability of products coming into New Zealand in the list of areas impacted. Nana noted that the country had previously taken many of these supply chains for granted but there has been a lot of change in the sector that New Zealand hasn’t grappled with before.
"There has been a lot of change in that environment and you superimpose on top of that the geopolitical environment which is becoming a lot more insecure and dare I say unfriendly to global trade."
Ganesh Nana said that there has been a change, “both in terms of the trading environment and whether it be market access to our export markets or whether it be access or availability of products coming towards New Zealand.”
The Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath of it brought the world’s attention to the importance of economic resilience. Nana made the claim that while there were underlying considerations it was the pandemic that made people realize that economic resilience is not just a "nice to have," but something that requires more attention and proactive measures.
The issues paper released by the commission outlines their views on economic resilience and supply chains in New Zealand as well as other countries, while also highlighting policy challenges that the inquiry should focus on.
"One of the challenges is around the distributional nature of resilience and when we look at it from an industry and sector perspective, recognising that many of our regions around the country are reliant on one or two industries or sectors," Nana said.
Ganesh Nana stated that one of the challenges related to economic resilience is the distributional nature of it, especially when viewed from an industry and sector perspective. He also stated that it was important to recognize that many regions in New Zealand depend heavily on just one or two industries or sectors – a factor that poses a significant risk to their economic resilience.
The commission collaborated with economists Brian Easton and David Skilling to develop the issues paper, with findings from their research published alongside of it. Members of the public can submit their suggestions on improving economic resilience until 17th April. The final report, including the commission's recommendations, is expected to be delivered to the government in February next year.