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Motu Research is an independent, world-class economics and public policy institute working for the public good.

We help Aotearoa New Zealand tackle complex social, environmental and economic challenges. 
Firm performance and labour dynamics

Pay in Māori-led firms

Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling

Working Paper

This study examines whether working in a Māori-led firm contributes to the earnings of Māori employees. It uses administrative data for 2005-2020 to identify Māori-led firms, based on the ethnicity and descent of working proprietors,…

Individual and group outcomes

Expenditure patterns of New Zealand retiree households

Authors: Trinh Le | Euan Richardson

Working Paper

This research delves into expenditure patterns of retiree households in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Updates

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2025-11-07

Motu Research embarking on new research with Marsden Fund grant: Making the most of Aotearoa New Zealand's cities and towns

We’re very proud to say we’ve just been awarded a prestigious Marsden Fund Fast Start grant for research into what…

2025-11-05

Over half a billion KiwiSaver dollars and other retail investments invested in Governments on human rights ‘high alert’

Groundbreaking new research from Motu Research has revealed more than half a billion dollars of KiwiSaver and other retail investments…

2025-10-31

Congratulations to Anushka Castaing, our Sir Frank Holmes Prize winner this year

Congratualtions to Anushka Castaing, our Sir Frank Holmes Prize winner this year.

Our Research

Environment

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Urban & regional

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Wellbeing & macro-economics

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Population & labour

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Human rights

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Productivity & innovation

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Events

September 17, 2025

Urban Economics short courses: September & October

Motu Research's Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan ran urban economics short courses in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in September/October.

Recent events

May 28, 2025

Putting children at the centre: Using our knowledge of child development to give kiwi kids the best start to life

This seminar presented findings from Jaimie Monk's latest report, drawing on data from the Growing Up in New Zealand study to examine children’s behavioural development.

April 17, 2025

2026 international climate negotiations & recent developments in EU, USA & China climate change policies (plus an Aotearoa NZ perspective)

In April 2024, we had a public policy seminar on the 2026 international climate negotiations and recent developments in EU, USA and China climate change policies - plus a discussion of climate policies in Aotearoa…

February 17, 2025

The Treasury New Zealand's social discount rate

Information about our recent Motu / Treasury New Zealand Public Policy Seminar on the Treasury's social discount rate on 17 February 2025.

Featured work

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Human rights

Sovereign Bond Investing and Human Rights: An Analysis of New Zealand’s Retail Investment Funds

Authors: Anne-Marie Brook | K. Chad Clay | Zoe Shepherd

Working Paper

This paper finds that as of March 2024, more than half a billion dollars of KiwiSaver and other retail investments were lent to governments on ‘high alert’ for human rights violations. This is a chance…
Individual and group outcomes

Some notes on measuring pay gaps

Authors: Dave Maré | Lyn Brieseman

Note

The formula for measuring the gender pay gap is widely used and generates internationally comparable measures. It measures how much lower women’s pay is than men’s, as a proportion of men’s pay. The size of…
Individual and group outcomes

Firm productivity and ethnic wages

Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling

Working Paper

This study looks at how fairly people from different ethnic and migrant backgrounds are paid for the value they create at work in Aotearoa New Zealand. We found wage patterns in Aotearoa are more favourable…
Well-being and sustainability measures

Impacts of macroeconomic policies on objective and subjective wellbeing: The role of housing tenure

Authors: Arthur Grimes | Norman Gemmell | Amelia Blamey

Working Paper

Between 2005 and 2021, house prices in Aotearoa New Zealand rose 142%, and that surge has deepened inequalities in people’s wellbeing. Homeowners gained; renters lost ground. When house prices rise, homeowners who own their homes…
Individual and group outcomes

Firms and ethnic wage differences

Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling

Working Paper

This paper looks at how much the workplaces people are employed in explain the pay gaps between ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand. The study finds the firms people work for explain only a very…
Individual and group outcomes

Ethnic wage differences in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Dave Maré | Thomas Benison

Working Paper

Ethnic wage gaps are a substantial and persistent issue in New Zealand.
 
Understanding the drivers of such gaps is key to understanding the economic, social, and institutional factors that contribute to labour market inequality and to…
Well-being and sustainability measures

Housing and child development: Trajectories of child wellbeing by tenure type in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Arthur Grimes | Jaimie Monk

Working Paper

This study followed nearly 6,000 children from birth to age 12 and found while children in public housing had more behavioural challenges at age two, those challenges eased more quickly than for their peers in…
Individual and group outcomes

Minimum wages and wage inequality in New Zealand

Authors: Dave Maré | Dean Hyslop | Lily Stelling

Working Paper

How much can raising the minimum wage reduce inequality? In this paper, we explore how sharp increases to New Zealand’s minimum wage—more than 75% in real terms for adults and over 200% for teenagers—have shaped…
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Wellington 6142, New Zealand

Phone: 64 4 939 4250

Email: info@motu.org.nz