Aid

Aid remains an important source of foreign finance for many countries. The CDI takes account of both aid quantity through their share of national income given as ODA; and of aid quality through their scores in the Quality of Official Development Assistance – QuODA exercise.

New Zealand’s aid performance

• Rank: 10

Strengths

• Large share of aid to well-governed recipients 
• Membership in the International Aid Transparency Initiative

• Low net aid volume as a share of the economy

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against imports from developing countries. It also penalizes costly importation processes and restrictions against purchasing services from foreigners.

New Zealand’s trade performance

• Rank: 1

Strengths

• Low agricultural subsidies 
• No tariffs on rice, wheat, sugar, and beef 
• Few limitations on the importation of services 
• Low cost to import a shipping container 

Finance

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can promote economic growth, help spread technologies, skills, and create jobs. Conversely, policies that permit secrecy can facilitate illicit activities and financial flows abroad. The CDI rewards policies that support healthy investment in developing countries and promote transparency in financial transactions at home as well as globally.

New Zealand’s finance performance

• Rank: 22

Strengths

• Provides assistance to companies looking for investment opportunities in developing countries
• Vigorous prosecution of home-country bribe payers

• Does not have Political risk insurance agency
• Scores below average in the Financial Secrecy Index for having few regulations in place to prevent illicit financial transactions within its jurisdiction

Migration

Allowing people to move from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. It also increases the flow of money migrants send home and the transfer of skills when the migrants return. The CDI also rewards countries for enabling students from developing countries to study at their universities, and for sharing the burden of refugees and asylum seekers.

New Zealand’s migration performance

• Rank: 6

Strengths

• Large number of immigrants from developing countries entering New Zealand 

Weaknesses

• Bears small share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises 

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources while poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration. The CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries, and biodiversity, all of which affect the lives of those far beyond one country’s borders.

New Zealand’s environment performance

• Rank: 19

Strengths

• No fishing subsidies 
• Low tropical timber imports 

• High greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita
• Greenhouse gas emissions grew almost as fast as GDP over the last decade 
• Low gas taxes

Security

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

New Zealand’s security performance

• Rank: 3

Strengths

• Significant personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade
• Participates in major international security treaties and regimes
• No arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments 

• No protection of global sea lanes

Technology

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

New Zealand’s technology performance

• Rank: 18

Strengths

• Will force patent holders to license to meet social needs
• Restricts copyrighting of databases
• Provides patent exceptions for research purposes

• Low government expenditure on R&D 
• Low tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D 
• Allows patents on plant and animal varieties