Degrowth is not glamorous

Degrowth is not glamorous
Rural France has been experiencing depopulation for many years. (Image: Florian Olivo/Unsplash)
Dileepa Fonseka
Within the political lexicon, 'degrowth' sometimes seems like something glamorous, like living in the French countryside, but both aren't the positive life experiences you might imagine.Degrowth is the concept of shrinking the economy to achieve a better ecological and economic balance. It sounds great until it actually happens.New Zealand demographer Paul Spoonley has been thinking about the former and living out the latter in a French village he has made regular visits to since 1992.“There is only one house that is now occup...

More Economy

Annual inflation at 2.2% in December quarter
Economy

Annual inflation at 2.2% in December quarter

The lift follows a 2.2% increase in the 12 months to the September quarter.

Rebecca Howard 22 Jan 2025
Card transaction data ‘much stronger than expected’:
Retail

Card transaction data ‘much stronger than expected’:

Stats NZ data shows retail spending has grown for five consecutive months.

Gregor Thompson 21 Jan 2025
NZ service sector underperforming globally
Economy

NZ service sector underperforming globally

New Zealand's Performance of Services Index is the only one in contraction among its key trading partners.The BNZ – BusinessNZ's performance index (PSI) fell to 47.9 in December from 49.1 in November.  “Our neighbour Australia is the closest comparison, but their equivale...

Staff reporters 21 Jan 2025
December inflation likely on target
Economy

December inflation likely on target

Annual inflation likely around 2.1%-2.2% in the December quarter.

Rebecca Howard 20 Jan 2025