NZ per capita GDP growth lowest since 2011

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By Leith van Onselen

Statistics New Zealand has released national accounts figures for the December quarter of 2018, with Gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 0.6% over the quarter to be up 2.3% year-on-year. GDP per capita rose by 0.1% over the December quarter and rose by 0.9% year-on-year – the ” lowest annual GDP per capita growth since 2011″.

As shown below, service industries drove the GDP growth:

Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI) – which measures the real purchasing power of New Zealand’s disposable income – fell by 0.2% in the December quarter, driven by a 3% decline in the terms-of-trade, but was up 2.8% year-on-year:

A population increase of 0.4% over the December 2018 quarter meant RGNDI per capita fell 0.6% over the quarter but rose by 0.9% year-on-year.

Statistics New Zealand points out that New Zealand’s economy is growing above the OECD average:

However, it should be noted that New Zealand’s population growth is among the fastest in the world at 1.9%, owing to the nation’s high immigration program.

Thus, New Zealand’s growth figures are being heavily inflated, and per capita growth is soft, much like Australia.

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Leith van Onselen
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