NZBR: Media Release
22 November 2002
OECD ECONOMIC FORECAST SUGGESTS STILL SOME WAY TO GO
New figures showing New Zealand's economic growth this year to be the OECD's third-highest are pleasing and are
testimony to the solid base built by the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the favourable effects of high
export prices and the low exchange rate, according to New Zealand Business Roundtable Chairman Rob McLeod.
The OECD forecast for New Zealand has the economy growing at 4% this year and at 3% and 3.4% over the next two years.
These figures are in line with New Zealand's economic growth trends since the early 1990s, with real GDP growing by an
average of 3.1% in the ten years to 2001, Mr McLeod said.
"The reforms put in place since the mid-1980s have built a solid platform for better economic outcomes over recent
years. As a result of these reforms, the economy is much more flexible. So far, this has allowed New Zealand to maintain
its economic momentum despite weaknesses in some other economies, said Mr McLeod.
"We cannot be complacent. The forecast growth rates - even with the favourable export situation - are well below the
sustained economic growth in real GDP per-capita of at least 4% per year required to achieve the government's goal of
reaching the top half of the OECD income rankings. Only a focus on pro-growth policies, including tax, spending and
regulatory reform, will make the government's target an achievable goal. This would be consistent with the OECD's
general observation that economic reform remains an essential ingredient for long-term growth."
ENDS