Global Development Matters
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New Zealand New Zealand

Next Country: Norway

Overall score 2008: 5.5
Change since 2003: –0.4 (using 2008 methodology)

New Zealand ranks 7th overall in 2008. New Zealand has among the lowest trade barriers of CDI countries. For its size, New Zealand also contributes significant finance and personnel to internationally sanctioned security operations and admits a large number of immigrants from developing countries. Yet New Zealand’s overall score is brought down by its small foreign aid program, poor donor practices, and weak policies toward investment in poor countries (New Zealand is one of just three rich countries lacking a national agency offering political risk insurance).

New Zealand Scores 2003-2007

2003: 3.5 2003: 8.7 2003: 2.4 2003: 7.0 2003: 6.9 2003: 8.1 2003: 4.9 2003: 5.9 2004: 2.4 2004: 8.8 2004: 2.4 2004: 7.3 2004: 6.9 2004: 8.9 2004: 4.9 2004: 5.9 2005: 2.7 2005: 8.6 2005: 3.0 2005: 6.6 2005: 6.6 2005: 8.4 2005: 4.9 2005: 5.8 2006: 2.8 2006: 7.2 2006: 3.3 2006: 6.6 2006: 6.7 2006: 8.0 2006: 4.9 2006: 5.7 2007: 3.9 2007: 7.5 2007: 3.0 2007: 6.7 2007: 6.6 2007: 7.7 2007: 4.7 2007: 5.7 2008: 3.2 2008: 7.1 2008: 3.9 2008: 6.1 2008: 6.8 2008: 7.7 2008: 3.8 2008: 5.5 New_zealand
 

Country Reports

2008 Results

Aid

What it measures

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GNI adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively uncorrupt recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 3.2
  • Rank: 13

New Zealand Strengths

  • Large amount of private charitable giving attributable to tax policy (rank as a share of GDP: 9)

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • Low net aid volume as a share of the economy (0.27%; rank: 13)
  • Contributes to project proliferation; small average project size (rank: 15)
  • Large share of tied or partially tied aid (14%; rank: 16)

Trade

What it measures

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 7.1
  • Rank: 1

New Zealand Strengths

  • Low tariffs on agricultural products (0.6% of the value of imports; rank: 2)
  • Low agricultural subsidies (equivalent to 2.7% tariff; rank: 1)

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • High barriers against apparel (13.5% of the value of imports; rank: 20)

Investment

What it measures

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support healthy investment in developing countries.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 3.9
  • Rank: 20

New Zealand Strengths

  • Provides support for outflows of portfolio investment
  • Does not impose restrictions on pension fund investments in emerging markets

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • Does not provide political risk insurance through a national agency
  • Lacks policies to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad
  • Has yet to complete Phase 2 monitoring of implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
  • Does not participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

Migration

What it measures

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 6.1
  • Rank: 8

New Zealand Strengths

  • Large increase during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants from developing countries living in New Zealand (rank by share of population: 3)
  • Large number of immigrants from developing countries entering New Zealand (rank by share of population: 4)
  • Large share of foreign students from developing countries (88%; rank: 3)

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • Bears small share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises (rank: 17)
  • Tuition for foreign students higher than for nationals

Environment

What it measures

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 6.8
  • Rank: 7

New Zealand Strengths

  • Small number of endangered species imports (rank: 4)
  • Few tropical wood imports ($7.35 per person; rank: 2)
  • No fishing subsidies (rank: 1)

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • High greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (12.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 16)
  • Greenhouse gas emissions grew only slightly slower than GDP during 1996–2006 (average annual growth rate/GDP, –2.2%; rank: 12)
  • Low gas taxes ($0.46 per liter; rank: 19)

Security

What it measures

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 7.7
  • Rank: 2

New Zealand Strengths

  • Significant financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade (rank by share of GDP: 4)
  • No arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments (rank by share of GDP: 1)

Technology

What it measures

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

New Zealand Overall

  • Score: 3.8
  • Rank: 20

New Zealand Strengths

  • No attempt to incorporate into bilateral free trade agreements “TRIPS-Plus” measures that would restrict the flow of innovations to developing countries
  • Small share of government R&D expenditure on defense (0.0%; rank: 5)

New Zealand Weaknesses

  • Low government expenditure on R&D (rank by share of GDP: 22)
  • Low tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 20)
  • Allows patents on plant and animal varieties