Higher Immigration Leads To Higher House Prices And Lower Unemployment - Report
by Penny Smith · SCOOPNew Reserve Bank research suggests large-scale immigration shocks significantly increase house prices and household credit.
The study also suggests that despite New Zealand's focus on high-skilled migrants, higher levels of immigration have little measurable impact on overall labour productivity.
Immigration is a major driver of New Zealand's economy, with researchers finding it accounts for about 30 percent of changes in economic growth and unemployment over three years.
The study looked at data from 1992 to 2019 and found higher immigration was linked to rising house prices, more household borrowing, and lower unemployment.
Younger migrants were associated with lower unemployment, while older migrants were linked to higher productivity.
However, the researchers found large scale immigration had a muted effect on labour productivity, even though New Zealand receives highly skilled immigrants.
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