It is with great pleasure that we are presenting the second occurrence of Studio DB’s Economic Outlook event series with Tony Alexander. During last year’s session, the attention was focused on supply chain issues, tight labour market constraints, and the paradigm shift happening to the economy from output-focused to productivity-focused. 

One year on and the paradigm shift seems more relevant than ever. From the ongoing inflation, the rising climate concerns and induced risks to the productivity challenges we face in the New Zealand economy, Tony painted the picture of what may be expected to come and what can leaders do to prepare for the future. 

Quick Summary:

• Our Exchange Rate: Kiwi Dollar is undervalued. This is due to our interest rates inclining slower than other countries  
• September this year saw tourist numbers to 58% of September 2019
• Foreign students are returning
• Food prices are increasing throughout the world with NZ being a primary exporter
• With a tight labour market, the feeling of job security is strong unlike other economic challenge’s
• Whilst equity in housing is decreasing – only a 1/3 of Kiwi’s have mortgages, 1/3 rent and the last 1/3 are free hold

View the above webinar recording for the full discussion.

Tony was employed as Chief Economist with the BNZ for 25 years and left at the end of 2019 to become an independent economist. His focus is on explaining what is happening in the economy in layman’s terms, providing people with the information they can use for planning business growth and understanding factors affecting the housing market. He produces a free weekly publication called Tony’s View, conducts regular surveys of his 20,000 subscribers, and produces a range of bespoke publications and columns.

Pierre has over 10 years of international workplace experience in helping businesses create innovative workplace strategies and adopt new ways of working. Since the pandemic, he has been using his expertise in distributed workforce management to develop sustainable solutions that enable employees to work at their best and organisations to reshape their approach to real estate portfolio to maximise flexibility, sustainability and user experience.