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This study investigated the inter-relationships among airport subsidies, air transport activity, and regional wellbeing by applying a three-stage least squares structural model using a panel dataset of New Zealand's regions from 2010 to 2019. By investigating these inter-relationships, the study provides empirical evidence of the necessity of implementing regional airport subsidies in New Zealand, and contributes to the regional aviation literature. The empirical findings reveal that implementing airport subsidies significantly increased scheduled flight seat capacity and helped unprofitable regional airports to increase their regional air transport activity. This study also shows that increases in airport subsidies can facilitate economic growth and employment in the region in which the airport is located. More importantly, this study empirically finds that regional air transport activity, economic growth, and environmental sustainability should be critical considerations when determining airport subsidies. These findings have profound implications for regional policymakers and airport stakeholders. • Explore airport subsidies' impacts in New Zealand's regions. • Investigate relationships among airport subsidies, aviation activity and wellbeing. • Economic development should be factored into subsidy policy decision process. • Environmental sustainability is vital for determining airport subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are used to treat people with relapsing-onset multiple sclerosis (ROMS), but our knowledge is largely limited to their short-term effects. Objective: To determine (1) the impact of national-level DMT subsidy policy on DMT use and health outcomes in people with MS (PwMS) and (2) the long-term effects of DMT on disability and quality of life (QoL; 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) utility value). Methods: This observational cohort study compared Australian and New Zealand populations with different levels of DMT availability 10–20 years post-ROMS diagnosis. Between-country differences were assessed using standardised differences. Associations were assessed with multivariable linear regression models. Results: We recruited 328 Australians and 256 New Zealanders. The Australian cohort had longer DMT treatment duration, greater proportion of disease course treated and shorter duration between diagnosis and starting DMT. The Australian cohort had lower median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (3.5 vs 4.0) and Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS) (3.05 vs 3.71) and higher QoL (0.71 vs 0.65). In multivariable models, between-country differences in disability and QoL were largely attributed to differential use of DMT. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the impact of national-level DMT policy on disability outcomes in PwMS. Where DMTs are more accessible, PwMS experienced less disability progression and improved QoL 10–20 years post-diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the economic rationale for the COVID-19 wage subsidy and grants related to assets and the accounting for these wealth transfers under NZ IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance. The principal contribution is presenting an economics–accounting nexus for government assistance to firms during a pandemic and for the nation's economic development. Design/methodology/approach: This is a descriptive study that draws on the economic theory of regulation to understand the rationale for wealth transfers, then examining the accounting for the wealth transfers by analyzing the financial statements of NZX 50 companies that received the wage subsidy and SkyCity and Chorus that received substantial grants to develop and operate the New Zealand International Convention Centre and building a large part of New Zealand's Ultra-Fast Broadband fiber optic network, respectively. Findings: First, the 10 NZX 50 companies that received the government's wage subsidy were justified to receive it from the legal, ethical and moral perspectives. However, some non-NZX 50 companies, while legally entitled to the wage subsidy, took advantage of the wealth transfer when they were profitable and paid dividends. This latter group of companies was not seen as behaving ethically and morally. Second, the government granted millions of dollars to SkyCity and Chorus for building critical infrastructures that are economically beneficial for the nation and that are unlikely to attract private investment, and these companies accounted for the grants related to assets in accordance with NZ IAS 20. Research limitations/implications: The financial statement impacts of the wage subsidy are based on a subset of NZX 50 companies with available information at the time of writing. However, they do not compromise the external validity of the findings because the wage subsidy applies to all businesses. Similarly, the manner in which SkyCity and Chorus accounted for the grants related to assets would apply equally to any entity that is a recipient of such a grant. Originality/value: This paper presents an economic understanding for the existence of government grants and how the accounting mirrors the economic rationale for the "grants related to income" and "grants related to assets." This paper demonstrates the importance of the economics–accounting nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new estimates of the extent and economic effects of agricultural policies that provide domestic support or import protection to farmers in countries that compete in the global marketplace with unsubsidised farmers. Analyses earlier this century found that import market access barriers accounted for more than 90 per cent of the global welfare cost of all assistance to farmers, with domestic support measures providing as little as 5 per cent. Since then the share contributed by domestic support has grown greatly in some high‐income and emerging economies, thanks to policy re‐instrumentation. Using the latest version of the GTAP model and database of the global economy, this paper estimates the economic effects of direct farmer subsidies, and of the producer subsidy and consumer tax equivalents of farm trade policies, on farmers in three lightly assisting countries. The estimates adjusted for country size suggest the effects on agricultural exports, net farm income and national economic welfare of such policies are far more adverse for Australia, Brazil and especially New Zealand than for the rest of the world, and that domestic supports abroad are much more important contributors to those losses now than they were at the start of this century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding risks to aquatic systems posed by changing drought regimes is particularly important for the conservation of already threatened taxa. However, little is known about how local environmental conditions, especially those in heavily human‐influenced situations, interact with regional shifts such as droughts to alter realised impacts on aquatic communities, including threatened top predators.Here, we investigated the combined effects of stream drying intensity and riparian canopy cover on the trophic interactions of critically endangered kōwaro, or Canterbury mudfish (Neochanna burrowsius) in an agricultural area of New Zealand. Fish populations and their potential prey, both terrestrial and aquatic, as well as environmental variables, including riparian canopy cover and drying measured with stage loggers, were sampled over eight visits to 24 sites spanning orthogonal drying and canopy gradients. Stable isotope ratios, 13C/12C and 15N/14N, were used to investigate trophic links between mudfish and their terrestrial and aquatic prey across these gradients.When non‐native willows (predominantly Salix fragilis) dominated the riparian canopy, increased tree cover led to elevated drying intensity, probably driven by their relatively high water demands compared to other trees. However, in the absence of willows, canopy cover had no effect on drying intensity. Although this was the only direct link between these two environmental factors, they had opposing effects on kōwaro populations, which will be important for management under drought.Increased drying intensity contributed to elevated abundance of microcrustacea and aquatic Diptera larvae, and an increase in the relative abundance of kōwaro juveniles. However, drying‐affected kōwaro populations also had fewer large reproductive adults and elevated δ15N values, probably driven by physiological limitations and an increase in kōwaro cannibalism, respectively.By comparison, increased canopy cover enhanced input of terrestrial invertebrates, a food resource for larger kōwaro, leading to elevated kōwaro δ13C values, no effects on δ15N values, and higher relative abundance of large kōwaro in shaded streams compared to unshaded streams. Thus, the riparian canopy cover was able to offset some of the effects of drying.Overall, we found no interactions between drying intensity and canopy cover affecting kōwaro. However, their opposing effect highlights the important role local conditions such as riparian canopies play on aquatic communities and their potential role as a restoration tool to mitigate the effects of large‐scale shifts such as drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-occurrence of several species, all of which share similar resource requirements, remains a paradox in ecology. Here, I evaluated resource use along multiple environmental axes to understand the potential for niche partitioning and complementarity in a guild of suspension-feeding rocky shore invertebrates. I focused on the mussels Perna canaliculus, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Aulacomya maoriana, and Xenostrobus pulex, all of which coexist along the coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. I quantified the mussels' distributions, both vertically on the shore and within the three-dimensional mussel bed matrix, and used carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios to compare species' diets. Mussels exhibited niche partitioning along all resource axes. Given the mussels' use of different spatial and food resources, I evaluated the potential for complementarity with respect to mussels' roles as mediators of an important spatial subsidy, carbon inputs from the nearshore ocean into rocky-shore ecosystems. In these systems, mussels are basal species, capturing and consuming particulate organic matter in the ocean and making it available for local consumption within the benthic community. I found that mussel diversity matters; even the most productive species—Perna canaliculus—only contributed about half of the mussel-mediated carbon that accumulated over a year. Multiple co-occurring species are, therefore, likely to provide more carbon at the base of the intertidal food web than any one species living independently, and complementarity in resource use along multiple environmental axes is likely an important mechanism underlying this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This address explores the importance for agricultural sustainability of different types of capital assets, especially knowledge capital, drawing on recent research in New Zealand that has aimed to expand the contribution of the primary sector to sustainable wellbeing. I begin with an overview of the theory on what constitutes sustainability and wellbeing, focusing on connections between wellbeing, capabilities and different types of capital stocks, and highlighting the importance of knowledge capital for wellbeing. Recent trends in New Zealand and United Kingdom agriculture provide the applied context for analysis of some key knowledge issues facing agriculture, framed by the capability theory of the firm following David Teece. The paper finishes with a brief conclusion on the implications for the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of government subsidy through R&D grants on innovation output for firms in New Zealand. Using a large database that links administrative and tax data with survey data, we find that R&D grants have a stronger effect on more novel innovation (e.g. applying for a patent or introducing new products to the world) than on incremental innovation (e.g. any product innovation) and that larger, project-based grants are more effective at promoting innovation than smaller, non-project-specific grants. There is little evidence that R&D grants have differential effects between smaller (<50 employees) and larger firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a need for accurate and precise food price elasticities (PE, change in consumer demand in response to change in price) to better inform policy on health-related food taxes and subsidies.Methods/design: The Price Experiment and Modelling (Price ExaM) study aims to: I) derive accurate and precise food PE values; II) quantify the impact of price changes on quantity and quality of discrete food group purchases and; III) model the potential health and disease impacts of a range of food taxes and subsidies. To achieve this, we will use a novel method that includes a randomised Virtual Supermarket experiment and econometric methods. Findings will be applied in simulation models to estimate population health impact (quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]) using a multi-state life-table model. The study will consist of four sequential steps: 1. We generate 5000 price sets with random price variation for all 1412 Virtual Supermarket food and beverage products. Then we add systematic price variation for foods to simulate five taxes and subsidies: a fruit and vegetable subsidy and taxes on sugar, saturated fat, salt, and sugar-sweetened beverages. 2. Using an experimental design, 1000 adult New Zealand shoppers complete five household grocery shops in the Virtual Supermarket where they are randomly assigned to one of the 5000 price sets each time. 3. Output data (i.e., multiple observations of price configurations and purchased amounts) are used as inputs to econometric models (using Bayesian methods) to estimate accurate PE values. 4. A disease simulation model will be run with the new PE values as inputs to estimate QALYs gained and health costs saved for the five policy interventions.Discussion: The Price ExaM study has the potential to enhance public health and economic disciplines by introducing internationally novel scientific methods to estimate accurate and precise food PE values. These values will be used to model the potential health and disease impacts of various food pricing policy options. Findings will inform policy on health-related food taxes and subsidies.Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000122459 (registered 3 February 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related food taxes and subsidies may promote healthier diets and reduce mortality. Our aim was to estimate the effects of health-related food taxes and subsidies on deaths prevented or postponed (DPP) in New Zealand. Methods: A macrosimulation model based on household expenditure data, demand elasticities and population impact fractions for 18 diet-related diseases was used to estimate effects of five tax and subsidy regimens. We used price elasticity values for 24 major commonly consumed food groups in New Zealand, and food expenditure data from national Household Economic Surveys. Changes in mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other diet-related diseases were estimated. Findings: A 20% subsidy on fruit and vegetables would result in 560 (95% uncertainty interval, 400 to 700) DPP each year (1.9% annual all-cause mortality). A 20% tax on major dietary sources of saturated fat would result in 1,500 (950 to 2,100) DPP (5.0%), and a 20% tax on major dietary sources of sodium would result in 2,000 (1300 to 2,700) DPP (6.8%). Combining taxes on saturated fat and sodium with a fruit and vegetable subsidy would result in 2,400 (1,800 to 3,000) DPP (8.1% mortality annually). A tax on major dietary sources of greenhouse gas emissions would generate 1,200 (750 to 1,700) DPP annually (4.0%). Effects were similar or greater for Maori and low-income households in relative terms. Conclusions: Health-related food taxes and subsidies could improve diets and reduce mortality from diet-related disease in New Zealand. Our study adds to the growing evidence base suggesting food pricing policies should improve population health and reduce inequalities, but there is still much work to be done to improve estimation of health impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the embryonic sociology of energy and infrastructure in New Zealand. It outlines the long-term impact of both climate change and energy depletion as well as the consequences for Building Code standards and the implications of Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart government subsidies on the energy market and sustainability. It argues that long-lasting improvements to the fabric of houses should be the focus of government's policy rather than subsidising short-lived equipment.

Objective: To identify differences in the range of medicines available and subsidized for ambulatory care in Finland and New Zealand. Methods: Medical entities listed in national product information sources and their subsidy statuses were compared. The number and overlap of entities available and subsidized were determined. Differences in the age of subsidized medicines were compared using the date of first registration. Differences in licensing delays were compared using a selection of new innovative medicines that provide health gain. Results: Within the inclusion criteria, 779/763 entities were available and 495/471 subsidized in Finland/New Zealand, of which around 30% (30.9% Finland, 29.5% New Zealand) were not available and approximately 40% (41.4% Finland, 38.4% New Zealand) not subsidized in the other country. The proportion of fully subsidized entities was higher in New Zealand (86.2%/29.1%). The entities only subsidized in New Zealand were significantly older than those only subsidized in Finland and the share of licensed and launched innovative medicines was significantly smaller in New Zealand. The differences were equally distributed across the therapeutic groups but clinically relevant differences were rarely found. Conclusions: In New Zealand, medicines are heavily subsidized across therapy groups, but those uniquely subsidized were older entities. In Finland, more “newer” medicines are subsidized and available, but the level and coverage of subsidy is lower and thus, the patient cost burden is higher. The cost containment policies adopted seem to affect patients' access to medicines mainly by availability in New Zealand and by affordability in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much research on the revolution in New Zealand libraries which followed the 1934 Munn-Barr report. In their enthusiasm for those reforms, researchers have neglected the contribution of the earlier mechanics' institutes, and the period of direct Education Department subsidies to public libraries. Failings in the department's limited approach were obvious by the early 1930s. After 1935 a centralised approach through the Country and School Library Service, and later the National Library, became the alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) is to manage pharmaceutical subsidy expenditure in New Zealand. PHARMAC has adopted a proactive approach. It selects the drugs that are to be subsidized and declines to subsidize others. It has established reference pricing across many drug groups, has entered into a range of innovative commercial contracts with pharmaceutical companies, and has encouraged greater price competition among pharmaceutical companies in order to lower prices and control expenditure risk. These initiatives have all been part of an overarching strategy to improve the value of the government's expenditure on pharmaceuticals. PHARMAC has also developed techniques of cost-utility analysis to assess the value of expenditure. PHARMAC has slowed pharmaceutical expenditure growth, culminating in a fall in expenditure in the 1998/1999 year. At the same time, patient access has continued to expand, with more prescriptions being written and new drugs being subsidized. Therefore, PHARMAC has made dramatic strides to improve the value of the government's expenditure on pharmaceutical subsidies and its actions have meant that more funds have been available for investment in other health services, than would have occurred if previous policies had remained unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the role of the state in the modernization of rural areas focusing on the northern province of New Zealand. It includes discussion on decentralized assistance programs, development of problem areas, centralized assistance programs, taxation subsidy, and farm income and crop supplements.

The authors reflect on the systems for prescription drug subsidies in Australia and New Zealand that make commonly used medicines more accessible and affordable. It mentions that both countries have different approach for expenditure management particularly in their policy tools such as the co-payment strategy for subsidised medicines. The authors hope that both will not disregard the fundamental principles of drug subsidies.