An analysis of New Zealands decline in world trade 1960-1990: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Post-Graduate Diploma in Commerce at Lincoln University

Abstract

This paper begins with an examination of developments in global trade, followed by a look at New Zealand's position within those developments. An examination of our trading partners is followed by a closer look at the effects of membership and non-membership of trade blocks. NZs rate of adjustment to developments is examined in an analysis of the products we export, and then compared to the success of Switzerland. New Zealand in 1960 inherited an economy unsuited to the developments that occurred over the next thirty years. Ninety percent of our exports have suffered from deteriorating markets. Agricultural protection and subsidies have hampered meat and dairy exports, while cheap synthetics have undermined exports of textile fibres. New Zealand has not been slow at adjusting. The rate of adjustment required to maintain New Zealand's share of world trade was simply unachievable. New Zealand must hasten the transformation of what we are producing, at the same time as trying to secure better access to existing markets.