The transaction sector, the information economy, and economic growth in New Zealand: Taking hazledine seriously*

I thank Tim Hazledine and a referee for useful comments. The second part of the title is a play on Hazledine (1998). It was also partly inspired by Scobie's (1998) review in this journal.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to broaden the discussion about the role of the ‘transaction sector’ in New Zealand economic growth by relating it to the seemingly alternative, but actually complementary, concept of the information economy, and by indicating some new directions for research. First, a brief overview of approaches to measuring transaction costs is provided. Secondly, the complementary nature of the information economy and transaction sector concepts is discussed. Next, empirical estimates of the information and transaction workforces are presented. Fourthly, the major points that need to be considered in the development of an extended, more complex, hypothesis about the role of the transaction sector in New Zealand economic growth are discussed, and‐ a first version of such a hypothesis is put forward.

Notes

I thank Tim Hazledine and a referee for useful comments. The second part of the title is a play on Hazledine (1998). It was also partly inspired by Scobie's (1998) review in this journal.

Hans‐Jürgen Engelbrecht, Department of Applied and International Economics, Massey University.