ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The objective of this chapter, simply stated, is to apply the concept of the investment development path (IDP) to New Zealand. New Zealand is currently in the latter phases of Stage 3, but, as might be expected from an economy that is resource rich, continues to have a large negative net outward investment position, given the high levels of inward foreign direct investment (FDI). Nonetheless, outward FDI has been seen to increase in importance in the past decade or so. Table 6.1 shows the growth in inward direct investment (expressed as a percentage of GDP). The corresponding growth in outward direct investment in this period suggests that New Zealand may be rapidly moving towards the latter stages in the IDP. However, more recent data showing that the growth of outward FDI is complemented by corresponding increases in the amount of inward investment suggest that New Zealand is following the pattern characteristic of resource-rich countries, where inward investment will always be higher than outward investment.
