Getting better is not the same as keeping up with international competition

PremiumOpinionOpinion byDr Oliver HartwichNZ Herald·22 Jul, 2026 09:00 PM4 mins to readDr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. His book ‘New Zealand by Comparison’ (with Dr Bryce Wilkinson) is available at www.nzinitiative.org.nz.New Zealanders work some of the longest hours in the developed world, yet the country's output per hour continues to lag many comparable economies. Photo / NZMEA fortnight ago, I wrote in these pages about the fall in New Zealand’s road toll, from 843 deaths in 1973 to a provisional 271 last year. I thought it was an achievement worth celebrating.

But then my colleague Bryce Wilkinson and I put the same