The more one is certain about the state of an economy, the more one is likely to be wrong; the more one is certain about the state of an economy, the greater the media coverage. No wonder the public is confused. I shan’t add to the confusion. In quick summary, the New Zealand’s economic growth…
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This was an introduction to a presentation by Stephen Jacobi: “TPP – Where to from Here (And How Did We Get Here Anyway)?” To a NZIIA lecture, 2 September 2015. (Some editing) It was suggested I first say a few words about the context in which the TPP and other trade negotiations are occurring. At…
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Trust Us? If you think you know what has been going on with the TPP, you have not been following closely enough. However, here are a few matters for clarification. Trade negotiations used to be like the following. Japan wants better access to the US market for the cars it produces, while the US wants…
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The US senate has given trade promotion authority to the President. What next? Will the TPP agreement be acceptable, and to whom? Unfortunately trade negotiations are riddled with acronyms. I have listed the ones used here at the end of the article. The US Senate has finally passed the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). This is…
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New Zealand International Review, May/June 2015, Vol 40, No 3. There is a bit of a construction shambles around the buildings that house the European Union in Brussels with new buildings, buildings retrofitted for energy efficiency and improvements to the subway and public surrounds. It is not that the activities of the EU are…
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Perhaps New Zealand’s acceptance of the TPPA will depend upon the outcome of the Northland by-election Prime Minister John Key shortened his trip to Japan and Korea in order to spend more time campaigning in the Northland by-election. Domestic affairs trumped international ones – for a short time anyway. He said he was going north…
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As Borders Fall Are Europeans Losing Their Cultural Identity Pundit: 29 December 2014 Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Aside from the English Channel, Europe has hardly any significant internal natural borders. Seventy years ago the border between Germany and Poland was settled at the Oder River. At its main crossing point it is no wider than…
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The EU remains central to New Zealand’s destiny Pundit: 23 December, 2014. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Political Economy & History; Suppose Britain exited the European Union of 28 countries. I am not recommending it; they would probably be worse off economically. Nor am I predicting it, although sometimes politics produces odd outcomes….
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The EU approach in trade deals is likely to protect the right of states to make public policy Pundit: 19 October, 2014. Keywords: Business & Finance; Globalisation & Trade; How can foreign investors in New Zealand be sure that we will treat them fairly? If they are not sure perhaps they…
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Conquest was the old way for countries to acquire resources, but trading is much cheaper. Listener: 12 July, 2014. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Political Economy & History; Over the next few years, as we think back to the Great War a century ago, we will be reminded of politics and bungling, heroism…
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Free trade is a fine ideal but comes at the cost of compromised sovereignty. Listener: 13 February, 2014. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Once free trade agreements (FTAs) were about reducing tariffs on imports. But it wasn’t long before it became necessary to deal with other means of favouring domestic production: import controls,…
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Asia-Pacific Integration: The Economic and Security Dimensions for New Zealand NZIIA Seminar: Wednesday, 13 November 2013 [1] Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; My theme today is on the impact of economic integration on global security. The thesis may be illustrated by the French political economist and diplomat, Jean Monnet who should have been awarded…
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Modern trade is seldom as simple as importing or exporting from A to B. Listener: 31 October, 2013. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Your jacket label may say “made in China” but as likely as not the garment is only assembled there. Half the value of a typical Chinese export is imported. The…
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We must remember the lesson of the 1960s and ensure the diversity of our exports and markets. Listener: 22 August, 2013. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History; We learnt from the Great Depression of the 1930s that New Zealand was over-dependent on a few exports – wool,…
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In the new partnerships New Zealand is joining, we need to maintain strong bottom lines. Listener: 25 July, 2013 Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Southeast Asia was not a stable region in the 1960s, not least because of the conflict in Vietnam. In 1967, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand came…
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This paper was presented to the Curtin Sarawak Research Institute at Curtin University, Sarawak (Miri campus), 22 March, 2013. (And earlier version was presented to a politics class at Victoria University of Wellington). The Power Points are available on request. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade I am going to talk about globalisation. I am not using…
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Listener: 29 September, 2012. The world economy remains fragile. There may be another major economic crisis, but if not, things will continue to drift – or possibly sink. Here are some of the major known unknowns facing the world – and us. It’s hard to say much about the United States economy. The country is…
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A note prepared for discussion in September 2012. Keywords: Business & Finance; Distributional Economics; Globalisation & Trade; Growth & Innovation; Macroeconomics & Money; What is the Purpose of the Economy? * The purpose of the New Zealand economy is to maintain and increase the wellbeing of all New Zealanders. It is neither the…
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Listener: 1 September 1, 2012 New Zealand ran out of farmland in the mid-1950s. Of course, it has always been limited, but the opportunities to create new farms ran out and the existing ones were getting bigger, so the job opportunities on them did not increase. Countries short of farmland used to acquire more by…
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Presentation for the Wellington Branch of the NZIIA, 15 May 2012 Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Macroeconomics & Money; Next week, the government will present its annual budget to parliament. There will be a lot more media space given to it than – say – to this paper, but its significance is much less than is…
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