Poll reveals New Zealanders’ beliefs about our economy
By Jamie Harknett
The poll results were launched at WEAll’s Economy for Public Good Conference, 2024
Have you heard the story of the Ancient Greek King Pyrrhus? When asked the purpose of his military adventures, he listed a series of conquests he wanted to add to his empire. When he exhausted the list, he finally said that what he hoped to achieve was to live in peace and spend all day in conversation with his friends. The philosopher Cineas then asked him, ‘what is preventing you from doing this now?’
For many, the purpose of the economy is endless economic growth. But when questioned further, most would say the ultimate purpose of economic growth is to improve the wellbeing of people. This begs the question, do we really need economic growth to achieve wellbeing for people? Or have we made an association between the two that is not necessarily true?
In 2024 we commissioned a nationwide survey to discover what people in Aotearoa think the purpose and success of the economy is.
In this blog we discuss some of the most interesting insights. In analysing this information, we’ve drawn on international studies, which enable us to compare the views of New Zealanders with our counterparts overseas.
Summary slide from Talbot Mills findings, Nov 2024
61 per cent of people believe ‘economic growth’ is the best way to achieve wealth and wellbeing, despite the wealth and wellbeing of most New Zealanders not keeping pace with ‘economic growth’
The survey asked people whether they agreed with a range of statements. One of those statements was ‘focusing on economic growth is the best way to achieve wealth and wellbeing for all who live here’. Of those surveyed, 61 per cent of New Zealanders agreed that focusing on economic growth is the best way to achieve wealth and wellbeing for all.
This is a stronger response than in other countries like Australia (52 per cent) or the United Kingdom (55 per cent), indicating that New Zealanders have a strong association between growth and the wealth and wellbeing of all people.
However, this association is at odds with trends over the last few decades. In the 1980s, someone in the richest 10 per cent earned around six times as much as someone in the poorest 10 per cent. By 2019 they earned nine times as much (Perry, 2019). In the same timeframe, the income of a person in the richest 1 per cent doubled (from around $200,000 to around $400,000), whereas the income of a person in the poorest 10 per cent rose by only one third (Rashbrooke, 2021). Growth in the economy has created wealth which has been largely captured by the wealthiest New Zealanders.
Wellbeing is harder to measure, as it can be subjective, but metrics show that as the economy has grown, wellbeing has not. For example, between 2014 and 2021, feelings of safety did not increase; between 2011 and 2021, drinking water quality did not change; and between 2007 and 2022, housing affordability also did not change (Stats NZ, n.d.).
We can see that although the economy has grown, the wealth and wellbeing of the most vulnerable New Zealanders has not increased in anything near the same proportion.
Only 62 per cent of New Zealanders agree there is too much inequality in Aotearoa
Another statement was,‘there’s too much economic inequality in Aotearoa these days’. Of those surveyed, only 62 per cent agreed. 22 per cent of people were neutral, 7 per cent didn’t know and 9 per cent disagreed outright. This suggests that 31 per cent of New Zealanders are comfortable with or neutral about the economic inequality that exists in our country, where the richest 10 per cent own 25 per cent of the country’s assets and the poorest 50 per cent own just 2 per cent (Rashbrooke, 2021).
As shown in the graph below, while our economy grows, inequality is also growing: the median net worth of the wealthiest 20 per cent of households increased by over $300,000 between 2018 and 2021, whereas the median net worth of the least wealthy 20 per cent of households increased by only $3,000 (Stats NZ, 2022).
There is a lack of awareness in Aotearoa that the current economic model has negative impacts on the environment
When asked if they agree with the statement that ‘the economic system in Aotearoa is bad for the environment’, only 32 per cent agreed. 20 per cent disagreed, leaving the remaining 48 per cent undecided or neutral. Our results were well below the average of G20 countries (44 per cent), and below other countries we often compare ourselves to such as Australia and Canada (both 36 per cent). This may point to a lack of awareness in Aotearoa of the impact of the current mode of the economy upon the environment. For example, although countries are working on decoupling their economies from their CO² emissions, growth in consumption means that rates of emission are not decreasing, with corresponding impacts on the world’s climate. The figure below shows that in 2022 there was still a close correlation between a nation’s GDP and its CO² emissions.
(Our World in Data, n.d.).
There is a broad consensus that the interests of future generations should be considered in policy decisions today
When asked if they agree with the statement, ‘the interests of future generations should be taken into account when making decisions on important policies in the present day’, 76 per cent of people in Aotearoa agreed. This is a more promising statistic, as it indicates that while people may believe that growth is good for its own sake, they still ultimately value the interests of people, including the interests of future generations (who by definition they do not know). Only 5 per cent of people disagreed with the statement (with the remainder neutral or undecided), suggesting there is a broad consensus that the interests of future generations should be considered in policy decisions.
Greater economic, social and environmental literacy needed
The results of the survey suggest that our shared cultural mindset has been shaped by neoliberal narratives like ‘economic growth is the best way to achieve wealth and wellbeing’. In this narrative inequality and environmental harm are either acceptable or unknown results of the economic system.
But, the fact that most New Zealanders share a concern for the wellbeing and interests of future generations gives us reason to hope. Perhaps like Pyrrhus, when we are asked to reflect on what really matters, we are clear in our values. However, we have not collectively been given the chance to see our values represented in our economic system.
The good news is, an opportunity exists to leverage our values to reshape our economy: to serve the interests not just of future generations, but to promote the wellbeing of those who are already here. This is the mahi that Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa is doing.
References:
Our World in Data. (n.d.). CO² emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita, 2022. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co2-emissions-vs-gdp
Perry, B. (2019). Household incomes in New Zealand: Trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2018. Ministry of Social Development.
Rashbrooke, M. (2021). Too much money: How wealth disparities are unbalancing Aotearoa New Zealand. Bridget Williams Books.
Stats NZ. (n.d.). Wellbeing data for New Zealanders. https://statisticsnz.shinyapps.io/wellbeingindicators/
Stats NZ. (2022, March 3). Distribution of wealth across New Zealand households remains unchanged between 2015 and 2021. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/distribution-of-wealth-across-new-zealand-households-remains-unchanged-between-2015-and-2021/
About Jamie
Jamie is one of WEAll’s young leaders in the campaign for a Wellbeing of Future Generations Act in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a Master’s candidate in Climate Change Science and Policy at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. With a background in education, the arts, and central and local government, Jamie is passionate about transformative action to protect future generations, marginalised groups, and nature itself from the impacts of climate change.
