1. Introduction[1]
Treasury’s companion working paper (01/15) Towards an Inclusive Economy stresses that the ultimate objective of policy is to improve the well-being of New Zealanders. Well-being comes from more than material consumption – it comes also from having a good job, good health, security, education, enjoying family and friends, and participating in a fair, tolerant and well-functioning community.
One of the key themes identified as important in Towards an Inclusive Economy is geography. Geography, both in terms of New Zealand’s position in the world, and the location of people and activity within New Zealand, affects well-being. This paper expands on the link between internal geography and the inclusive economy, by looking more closely at differences between regions.
A regional perspective to the inclusive economy is important for a number of reasons. The inclusive economy work emphasises the importance of growth – regional performance has implications for growth in the economy as a whole. The inclusive economy work also argues that low levels of well-being are a particular concern – levels of well-being vary across regions and localities, with some experiencing high deprivation. Furthermore, many of the mechanisms identified as important in the inclusive economy perspective operate at a local level (education, jobs, many institutions, etc.) or involve interactions between people, which happen more readily with proximity. Geographic proximity is one important dimension of community.
The paper has three parts:
- Section 2 discusses the extent to which differences in economic and social indicators across regions might constitute problems.
- Section 3 illustrates the importance of understanding empirical patterns of deprivation in New Zealand.
- Section 4 outlines some key policy directions.
We summarise key findings in Section 5.
Notes
- [1]The author would like to thank Sarah Box, Hauraki Greenland, Lesley Haines, Benedikte Jensen, Geoff Lewis, Dave Mare, Peter Mawson, Murray Petrie, Roger Procter and Jason Timmins for their input into this paper.
