https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref <p>The New Zealand Review of Economics and Finance is a student-run journal published by senior undergraduate students and postgraduate students from the School of Economics and Finance at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW).</p> Victoria University of Wellington en-US The New Zealand Review of Economics and Finance 2324-4771 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref/article/view/1737 Insured losses in the Canterbury earthquakes have been estimated at over $23bn. The size of these losses pushed the NZ insurance industry and its members to their limits following the quakes, though the losses will ultimately be borne by NZ policy holders in the long term. Insurance industry reform was underway before the quakes but they provided a strong motivator for regulatory change to add further stability. NZ has depleted the EQC earthquake fund and must therefore rely on a strengthened insurance industry to guard against natural disasters in the future. James Tate Copyright (c) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 2 10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1737 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref/article/view/1738 This essay weighs up the efficiency of different forms of consumption taxes, and balances the positives and negatives to find the best approach for New Zealand. It considers the ease of use and low administrative cost of the current uniform consumption tax in New Zealand (GST). Conversely, the regressive nature and the effect it has on low income earners shows that it is not a perfect system. Possible improvements are put forward, such as imposing a zero tax on necessities, or compensating the poor with benefits. The conclusion reached is that GST is the most efficient system of consumption tax. Olena Khytko Copyright (c) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 2 10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1738 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref/article/view/1739 In this essay, I examine the issues around the inclusion of the exchange rate channel into monetary policy rules, and look at how several central banks currently address exchange rates when determining interest rates. I then go onto examining the model used by Taylor in his paper, and discuss issues around this approach and make some suggestions of some desirable features for using the exchange rate channel in a policy rule. I then go on to provide an example of a very general policy rule and briefly discuss how it could be used in setting interest rates. Alan Bristow Copyright (c) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 2 10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1739 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref/article/view/1740 India was under direct British administrative control for almost a century, with independence from Britain not gained until relatively recently, in August 1947. British imperialism had a number of significant impacts on the region – many of which had lasting legacies on the country’s economic and social positions. While some of these impacts were positive for India, many resulted from British imperial interests being prioritized over domestic interests, which led to an uneven pattern of development and weak central government. This note canvasses some of the commonly explored legacies of British colonialism in India, and concludes that a century of foreign control may have done more harm than good for the country’s development. Simon Carey Copyright (c) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 2 10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1740 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzref/article/view/1741 This book presents an econometric analysis of riskiness in country risk ratings. Country risk and its associated risk ratings for 120 countries covering eight geographic regions is analysed by using the univariate and multivariate volatility models. Tahir Suleman Copyright (c) 2013-05-28 2013-05-28 2 10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1741