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The pine tree paradox : why creating the New Zealand we all dream of requires a great university / by Michael W. Parker.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: [New Plymouth, N.Z.] : M. Parker, [2010]Copyright date: ©2010Description: 206 pages ; 20 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0473164051
  • 9780473164058
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.993 22
Contents:
Introduction -- 1. The last time New Zealand thought big -- 2. The curse of the $100 dollar peach -- 3. A tale of two islands -- 4. Six billion people want to move to New Zealand -- 5. On the waterfront -- 6. The enterprise -- 7. Standing athwart history yelling Stop -- 8. Money -- 9. The fork in the road -- 10. Being Joe Stanley.
Summary: "New Zealand had the fifth highest GDP per capita in the OECD in 1960; today we are 27th. The standard explanation for what went wrong involves some nonsense about commodity prices, Rob Muldoon and distance to markets. In The Pine Tree Paradox Michael Parker argues that our economic decline stems simply from our continuing reliance on agriculture. Today, developed countries get richer by capitalising on good ideas, not by growing things. Pine trees grow faster in New Zealand than anywhere else in the world. Yet, pine trees have not made us rich. However, because of the bounty of our land, we continue to believe that agriculture - goats, kiwifruit, venison, wine - will save us. The problem is not with our trees. The problem is that we live in the 21st century. The Pine Tree Paradox sets out a vision for New Zealand driven by innovation, not agriculture. While "being innovative" is orthodox economic thinking in New Zealand today, our approach is not nearly bold enough. A clear-eyed review of our national strengths reveals that we are well-placed to transform our economy into a global centre of innovation. What is required is a world-class university: Stanford on the Waitemata. Parker contrasts our economic experience with that of Northern California and asks: why not us? Building this future will be slow and costly. But - as the last 50 years have proved - not as costly as doing nothing"--Book jacket.
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Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- 1. The last time New Zealand thought big -- 2. The curse of the $100 dollar peach -- 3. A tale of two islands -- 4. Six billion people want to move to New Zealand -- 5. On the waterfront -- 6. The enterprise -- 7. Standing athwart history yelling Stop -- 8. Money -- 9. The fork in the road -- 10. Being Joe Stanley.

"New Zealand had the fifth highest GDP per capita in the OECD in 1960; today we are 27th. The standard explanation for what went wrong involves some nonsense about commodity prices, Rob Muldoon and distance to markets. In The Pine Tree Paradox Michael Parker argues that our economic decline stems simply from our continuing reliance on agriculture. Today, developed countries get richer by capitalising on good ideas, not by growing things. Pine trees grow faster in New Zealand than anywhere else in the world. Yet, pine trees have not made us rich. However, because of the bounty of our land, we continue to believe that agriculture - goats, kiwifruit, venison, wine - will save us. The problem is not with our trees. The problem is that we live in the 21st century. The Pine Tree Paradox sets out a vision for New Zealand driven by innovation, not agriculture. While "being innovative" is orthodox economic thinking in New Zealand today, our approach is not nearly bold enough. A clear-eyed review of our national strengths reveals that we are well-placed to transform our economy into a global centre of innovation. What is required is a world-class university: Stanford on the Waitemata. Parker contrasts our economic experience with that of Northern California and asks: why not us? Building this future will be slow and costly. But - as the last 50 years have proved - not as costly as doing nothing"--Book jacket.

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