Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, New Zealand, and IZA, Germany
IZA World of Labor role
Author
Current position
Senior Fellow, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust, New Zealand; Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Research interest
Urban economics, Labor market dynamics, New Zealand public policy
Positions/functions as a policy advisor
Researcher, Statistics New Zealand, 2005–2013; Advisor, New Zealand Department of Labour, Labour Market Policy Group, 1999–2001
Past positions
Adjunct Lecturer, Victoria University of Wellington, 2001–2006
Qualifications
PhD Economics, Harvard University, 1995
Selected publications
-
"Cyclical labour market adjustment in New Zealand: The response of firms to the global financial crisis and its implications for workers." In: Criscuolo, C. (ed.). Business Dynamics and Productivity. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2017; pp. 111–141 (with R. Fabling).
-
“Firm productivity growth and skill.” New Zealand Economic Papers 51 (2016): 302–326 (with D. R. Hyslop and R. Fabling).
-
“Agglomeration elasticities and firm heterogeneity.” Journal of Urban Economics 75 (2013): 44–56 (with D. J. Graham).
-
“Understanding New Zealand’s changing income distribution 1983–98: A semiparametric analysis.” Economica 72:3 (2005): 469–496 (with D. Hyslop).
-
"Cities and skills." Journal of Labor Economics 19:2 (2001): 316–342 (with E. Glaeser).
-
- Migration and ethnicity
- Labor markets and institutions
- Education and human capital
- Country labor markets
The labor market in New Zealand, 2000–2017
Employment has grown steadily and the gender gap and skill premiums have fallen
David C. Maré, April 2018New Zealand is a small open economy, with large international labor flows and skilled immigrants. Since 2000, employment growth has kept pace with strong migration-related population growth. While overall employment rates have remained relatively stable, they have increased substantially for older workers. In contrast, younger workers as well as the Maori and Pasifika ethnic groups experienced a sharp decline in employment rates and a rise in unemployment around the time of the global financial crisis. Wage gains have been modest and there has been a compression of earnings differentials by gender as well as by skill.MoreLess