So, Chris Luxon looks to Estonia -

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Forums › Politics › So, Chris Luxon looks to Estonia -

decibel

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#312438 16-Apr-2024 16:07

and the news media asks why? https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/514173/prime-minister-christopher-luxon-looks-for-estonian-inspiration

We / they all have short memories. Back in December 2014 (almost 10 years ago !!) New Zealand was a founding member of the D5 group of nations, along with Israel, South Korea, the UK and of course Estonia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Nations

Why did they bother? Successive governments just seemed to have dropped the ball.

Sure we have made some progress, but nobody seemed to get fired up and drive it all forward.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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#3219187 16-Apr-2024 16:51

Estonia is an example that should be followed. But as you say, successive governments just thought exporting milk and cheese is our calling.

ezbee

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#3219250 16-Apr-2024 20:00

Just have to be careful about what we are comparing, given that Estonia is hop-skip-and-jump from rich EU countries.
Being in the EU probably gives you a boost in being able to attract investment capital and markets to sell into.

Didn't a previous Governments go on endlessly about Irelands economic miracle?

Though as you went deeper it was not all about deregulation and did have a hiccup later.
It is interesting in that it showed GDP may not be all it seems.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018914892/are-the-irish-twice-as-rich-as-us

“Unlike most countries, the measure provides only limited insight into the size of the economy,” The Economist said.

The British publication said Ireland’s corporate tax regime made it a hub for about 1500 multinational tech and pharmaceutical companies.

Their income inflated Ireland’s GDP, but most of it was funneled abroad and should not be fully counted when measuring the size of Ireland’s economy, The Economist said.

The way multinational firms accounted for their assets and profits created staggering GDP increases in Ireland from 2015, big enough to “warp averages across the Eurozone”, The Economist said.

freitasm

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#3219251 16-Apr-2024 20:02

Ireland's "miracle" is the tax heaven they offer to large corporations that funnel money there to move to Caribbean islands.