Recession reality smacks Reserve Bank in face

The wheels continue to fall off New Zealand’s economy, which is floundering in recession. Late last month, Statistics New Zealand released the country’s national accounts, which showed that Q4 GDP unexpectedly fell, whereas earlier data was revised down heavily. The next chart from Dr Cameron Murray at Fresh Economic Thinking tells the tale, with real per capita GDP and real per capita gross disposable income falling sharply over the five quarters to December 2023: Meanwhile, New Zealand’s labour market is …