Number: 97-29
Title: NEW ZEALAND: POLITICAL/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS AND RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES
Authors: Robert G. Sutter, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division 
Abstract: Since 1984, New Zealand has restructured its economy that has been largely agrarian and highly dependent on guaranteed access to the British market, and now is a more industrialized and balanced market economy. The reforms have been so comprehensive that New Zealand is now rated as one of the most open and unregulated economies in the world. The reforms, however, also have entailed painful adjustment costs as the expected increases in production have taken about a decade to materialize. In the process, popular dissatisfaction with both major political parties has emerged and resulted in a much more complex domestic political situation. At the same time, despite differences over nuclear weapons, U.S. relations with New Zealand remain quite strong.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated September 8, 1999