Friday 6 July 2007

NZ world's sixth most prosperous

New Zealanders are the world's sixth most prosperous according to a recent worldwide survey. [Story here at NBR.] The survey ranks 50 countries "according to two broad categories— 'material wealth' and 'life satisfaction'—which are based on 20 diverse indicators including things like capital accumulation, climate, and divorce rates." That sixth position comes despite New Zealand's performance as measureed by the traditional measure of prosperity, material wealth.
In material wealth, New Zealand ranked eleventh, just behind Denmark.
Interestingly, however, the country did not perform so well on the category
called “commercializes new ideas by exploiting innovation,” where it earned a
score of negative two. Compare that to Ireland, for instance, which scored 23 in
the same category, and which has launched itself to the forefront of the
technology sector.

There has to be a lesson there, doesn't there. NZ's sixth place sees us coming behind the US, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Canada.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did these people actually interview New Zealanders?!

Anonymous said...

Reckon there's statisics and lies. This has elements of both.

C

Greg said...

What hocus pocus is this??

First, 'life satisfction' is subjective and might be lower if we had close neighbours to examine.

Second, our material wealth is built on over-spending and perversity of the high dollar. Two cases this week alone point to that: bridgecorp and the $4million Fitzsimon fraud in Napier.

As my stock agent said, 'It's nice to have a cheap holiday in Aussie but I'd prefer to have a viable company and a job when I come back'.

Rich Garratt said...

It is nice to see statistical acknowledgement we do not have to be wealthy in a material sense to feel rich in other ways, and also to see that not everyone feels compelled to exploit innovation for monetary gain.

Life is not about real disposable income and cash flow.

I am sure most people, around their own death bed, would prefer to sense loving family than to be alone in a room where a significant stash of material possessions, whether slaved-for or stolen, blocks access to sincere and fulfilling relationships.

I am grateful I get to call New Zealand my home country.