NZ’s economy is not underperforming by accident

NZ’s economy is not underperforming by accident

New Zealand’s productivity problem has long been recognised. For decades, reports from the Treasury, the Productivity Commission, the OECD and others have told a consistent story: our economy grows by adding more people and more hours, not by producing more value per hour worked. But the International Monetary Fund’s April report, released online this week, New Zealand’s Productivity Challenge, offers a sharper and more unsettling perspective. I…