Mining in the New Zealand economy

Abstract

Like most productive activities, mining contributes to human welfare. Also like most economic activities, mining is best done where the relevant resources are relatively abundant and where economic costs (in the widest sense) are lowest. Mining will not increase economic welfare – on the contrary, it will often reduce it – if done in the wrong place, or in the wrong way, or without a proper legal and regulatory framework. Mining therefore presents industryspecific problems for regulators and policy makers, which cannot be finessed by overgeneralised rhetoric or glamorous photography. This paper reviews some of the key policy issues to be borne in mind in the ongoing debate over the expansion of mining activity in New Zealand’s conservation estate, and summarises the results of some recent statistical research on the economics of mining in New Zealand