More to New Zealand’s budget than good vibes

We might draw a few lessons from the Kiwis’ upcoming ‘wellbeing budget’

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, whose ‘wellbeing budget’ measures growth using metrics that echo the work of some of the world’s foremost economists PIc: Bloomberg

New Zealand and Ireland have much in common: English-speaking island countries of 4.8 million people, with strong agricultural sectors, spectacular scenery and housing crises. And we each have an interest in leprechaun economics.

But if Ireland’s economics is all about the dodgy pot of gold, New Zealand’s is all about the rainbow. Its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern (the youngest female PM in the world and, along with Canada’s Justin Trudeau, one of the ...