Shift‐share analyses of New Zealand exports, 1970–1984

Abstract

Between 1970 and 1989, New Zealand exports grew by only 95.3 per cent at a time when world trade expanded by 152.9 per cent. This note undertakes two shift‐share analyses of New Zealand's exports, disaggregated by category of export and by country of destination. The first analysis suggests that New Zealand's relatively slow growth was due entirely to the country's concentration on primary commodity exports in 1970 (notably, meat, dairy products and textile fibres) while the second analysis suggests that New Zealand has done better than average in its export performance to all our trading partners with one outstanding exception ‐ the United Kingdom.

Notes

Department of Economics and Marketing, Lincoln University, Canterbury.