tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342528022617501525.post2127640762827914277..comments2024-03-28T15:05:33.781+13:00Comments on Economics New Zealand: A big rise in immigration - excellentDonal Curtinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03687495556590450225noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342528022617501525.post-76726005389725334532016-10-23T16:43:48.789+13:002016-10-23T16:43:48.789+13:00Enjoy Melbs, great place, I used to live there, bu...Enjoy Melbs, great place, I used to live there, but I'm not sure it's any better for the addition of more than a million people in the last 10 years, it's been a hugely diverse place for decades. If it wasn't for the pretty good public transport network I'd hate to think what all that urban sprawl on the city fringe would have done...the roads still get pretty snarled up as it is.<br /><br />With regards to businesses' difficultly finding skilled staff, why don't they increase wages? Why would the government want to protect business from market forces? Also, surely the quickest way to get inflation back in the RBNZ's target is to engender some wage growth. Btw I was interested to note that according to SNZ's Labour Market Survey virtually none of the respondents cited "attracting staff" as a reason for wage rises. Calaveritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06658450558451833844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342528022617501525.post-73205371469922528382016-10-23T11:54:53.629+13:002016-10-23T11:54:53.629+13:00Hi - thanks for the comment. I'm on holiday in...Hi - thanks for the comment. I'm on holiday in Melbourne at the mo for the long weekend so no great time for a full reply (I'll do something more considered later on) but here are some initial ideas. And no, I haven't revised my thoughts, other than perhaps to acknowledge that (as the Brexit vote showed) there are people who are against immigration (or large scale immigration) for logical respectable reasons. Though the Brexit vote also showed us that there are plenty of the ranters and ravers around, too.<br /><br />First I'd just say that the onus isn't on me to prove anything. I already cited reputable cross-country research that showed immigration is a good thing, and pointed to the economists' consensus on the matter. The onus is on anti-immigration folk to explain why New Zealand would be the exception to the international rule and why everyone else is wrong.<br /><br />Second, as you note, I wrote two years ago. Since then net immigration has increased substantially. But as I reproduced here http://economicsnz.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/dont-be-too-asty_17.html it is clear that businesses' difficulty in finding staff (skilled AND unskilled) has got even worse over that period, not better. So it can't be the case that immigration has made the labour market worse for locals, which tends to be one of the bigger gripes. There are other criteria that people might be using, but for me harm in the labour market simply can't be one of them. Quite the opposite - the current cycle would have hit a cyclical capacity constraint without the net immigration we've had.<br /><br />Third, I'm typing this in Melbourne, a good example of a cultural melting pot over the past century (Brits, Chinese, Greek, Italian...). I doubt if it would be half the place it is without that mix.<br /><br />In any event I'll come back to it when I've got a bit more time. Thanks again for the comment.Donal Curtinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03687495556590450225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342528022617501525.post-27598928768024206842016-10-22T23:10:50.868+13:002016-10-22T23:10:50.868+13:00Only 40,000...you must be practically euphoric at ...Only 40,000...you must be practically euphoric at the current immigration rate. Perhaps you've got a portfolio of Auckland rental properties and never need to do battle on the Southern Motorway. Jokes aside, have you had any reason to revise your view over the last two years? Is there any data you can point to as a counterweight to Michael Reddell's analysis?Calaveritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06658450558451833844noreply@blogger.com