The Government is busy pushing its growth agenda, but what’s the best way to pursue sustainable growth that produces higher-value jobs and more export earnings?

A new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) says it involves taking a more strategic approach to New Zealand’s economic future. The report identifies five key ecosystems that could drive the nation's growth and global standing by 2050.

According to the report, NZ's economic performance has declined relative to our peers. We once enjoyed a per-capita income of 88% of the US in the 1950s; it now stands at just 64%, compared with Australia's 79%. 

This decline is attributed to falling productivity, eroding competitive advantage and a growing talent gap.

An ecosystem approach

BCG argues NZ must shift from spreading investments thinly across multiple industries to focusing on three to five high-value "ecosystems" where the country has a strong competitive advantage – agriculture 4.0, space and satellites, green tech, the future of medicine and creative industries. 

But isn’t that picking winners a strategy that has got us into trouble in the past?

“We don't want to pick winners,” Kelly Newton, BCG’s co-managing partner for NZ, told me on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech.

“Some of that is maybe afraid to say no or afraid to be wrong,” she said. 

“I would frame it as we can gamble on potential happy accidents and hope that something works out … but that's also really difficult to develop any kind of expertise in because you can't anticipate what that might be. My position would be that those happy accidents can happen even if you're placing some strategic bets,” says Newton.

Listen to episode 91 of The Business of Tech for my in-depth interview with BCG’s Kelly Newton, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees for Business. Subscribe on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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