New Zealand

Aid

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GNI adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively uncorrupt recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.

• Score: 2.2
• Rank: 18

• Large amount of private charitable giving attributable to tax policy (rank as a share of GNI: 10)

• Low net aid volume as a share of the economy (0.24%; rank: 17)
• Allows project proliferation; small average project size (rank: 16)
• Large share of tied or partially tied aid (19%; rank: 14)

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.

• Score: 7.6
• Rank: 1

• Low protection of agricultural commodities (rank: 1)
• Low tariffs on agricultural products (rank: 2)
• Low agricultural subsidies (rank: 1)

• High barriers against apparel (rank: 19)

Investment

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support healthy investment in developing countries.

New Zealand Overall

• Score: 3.7
• Rank: 19

• Provides official support for outflows of portfolio investment

• Does not provide official insurance against political risk
• Imposes very strict policies to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad
• Has yet to complete Phase 2 monitoring of implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
• Does not participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) or the Kimberley Initiative on blood diamonds
• Does not provide official assistance in identifying direct investment opportunities

Migration

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return.

• Score: 6.9
• Rank: 3

• Large increase during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants from developing countries living in New Zealand (rank by share of population: 4)
• Large number of immigrants from developing countries entering New Zealand in 2004 (rank by share of population: 4)
• Large share of foreign students from developing countries (88%; rank: 3)

• Bears small share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises (rank: 16)
• Tuition for foreign students higher than for nationals

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.

• Score: 6.4
• Rank: 8

• Low consumption of ozone-depleting substances per person (rank: 2)
• Small number of endangered species imports (rank: 4)
• Few tropical wood imports (rank: 2)
• No fishing subsidies (rank: 1)

• High greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (19 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 18)
• Only a small decrease in greenhouse gas emissions rate in 1994–2004 (average annual growth rate/PPP GDP, –0.9%; rank: 17)
• Low gas taxes (rank: 18)
• No policy to regulate imports of illegally cut timber

Security

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

• Score: 7.4
• Rank: 3

• Significant financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions (overall contribution rank over last 10 years by share of GDP: 4)
• No arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments (rank by share of GDP: 1)

• No protection of global sea lanes

Technology

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

• Score: 4.9
• Rank: 14

• Limited patent coverage for software programs
• No attempt to incorporate “TRIPS-Plus” policies in bilateral free trade agreements with developing countries
• Does not offer patent-like proprietary rights to developers of data compilations, including those assembled from data in the public domain
• Small share of government R&D expenditure on defense (1%; rank: 6)

• Low government expenditure on R&D (rank as share of GDP: 19)
• Low tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 20)
• Allows patents on plant and animal varieties