Recent wealth and income trends in New Zealand

A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO – WELLINGTON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SUMMER SCHOOL, WELLINGTON, 11 FEBRUARY 2015

During the run-up to the 2014 General Election, some opposition parties attempted to make political capital out of claims that inequality in New Zealand had increased during the term of the National-led government of John Key and Bill English. Evidence for such claims was at best mixed and at worst hardly compelling.

What evidence that was produced did not really cast any light on exactly how unequal New Zealand is in income and wealth terms but merely on recent trends in income inequality. Income and wealth inequality is, in fact, deeply embedded into New Zealand’s social and economic make-up and has been for some time – at least since the late 1980’s.

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